An excavating company was ordered to stop the use of a sand-sifting machine by the Department of Planning after discovering it was being used at a Hamilton construction site without planning approval.

Rodrigues Trucking and Excavating, was given a stop work notice after complaints its sand machine blustered nearby parked cars and buildings with dust and was causing racketing vibration.

The site is a development of Par-la-Ville Treo Limited, which is building a seven-storey office building, at 7 Par-la-Ville Road directly in front of Bermy Cuisine. It will take 18 months to erect, with Apex Construction overseeing the project.

One man - who would not be named - contacted The Royal Gazette - complaining of dust and debris that had blanketed his car while he was inside the Bermy Cuisine restaurant on Park Road.

He said: “There is dust and stuff all over the place. My car was parked for ten minutes and people are very upset because of the continuous noise.”

According to the Department of Planning, because the site is an industrial operation, planning permission is required to have such equipment under the Development and Planning Act, a claim Rodrigues Trucking and Excavating has rejected.

The department confirmed it had received complaints about the sifting plant and sent an inspector to the site before giving the order.

However, Paul Rodrigues, owner of Rodrigues Trucking and Excavating, said his company is authorised to run the plant, because the site has a building permit.

Mr. Rodrigues claimed the action was “political,” saying his company has been battling the Department of Planning through the courts for three years and accused The Royal Gazette>of being biased for its past reporting of his company.

He said: “I don’t know what you are talking about. There is no dust coming from the sand sifter. Planning refuses to acknowledge that if you have an excavation permit and a license to operate the plant, we can cut and sift.

“The bottom line is there is an excavation permit granted for the site. We are excavating it and we are sorting the materials by using a sifter, we are not selling it or crushing it.”

Responding to questions submitted by this paper, Erica Smith, acting Director of Planning, said: “The site has planning permission and a building permit to construct an office development.

“Such excavation can take place to accomplish that. However, what is customary in the City is that excavated materials must be trucked off sites and processed at the appropriate sites elsewhere. The approvals granted on this site do not include an excavation or quarrying license and therefore there are no conditions to mediate its impact in this location.”

Mr. Rodrigues provided a copy of a sand-sifting plant permit - issued to his company by the Department of Environmental Protection - under the Clean Air Act.

An official from that department, who did not wish to be named, confirmed its validity, but said the law requires that Mr. Rodrigues seek permission from both the planning and environmental protection departments before operating.