Hydro exposed in council plan

MERIDIAN Energy wants the Mackenzie District Council to recognise the significance of hydro generation with the Mackenzie Basin.

At hearings this week over the council's plans to restrict development to certain areas, Meridian said the council should recognise the national significance of its infrastructure and future ability to develop new generation.

Boffa Miskell senior planner and director Ken Gimblett said a significant concern was that district plan change 13 had implications for all forms of development, even though it was focused on controlling inappropriate subdivision and residential development.

Mr Gimblett said it was unrealistic to expect all forms of development to occur within designated nodes - the specified locations suited to development.

"It is unrealistic to do so; hydro-electricity generation and transmission infrastructure being an obvious example."

He said the plan change did not adequately recognise the importance of the Waitaki hydro electric scheme and it did not protect it from the threat of reverse sensitivity.

The relationship between landscape values and the nationally important infrastructure, which already formed part of the landscape, needed to be clarified.

Meridian also opposed requests for any greater protection of lakeside areas, surfaces and their margins, and the night sky within the basin, in so far as those requests failed to appropriately recognise the importance of the hydro electric scheme.

It opposed requests by various submitters for greater development opportunity around areas such as Twizel and Manuka Terrace, Lake Ohau, for the same reasons.

Landowners in opposition to the plan changes have remained the majority of submitters at the hearings.

However, on Monday Tekapo's Anne Braun-Elwert submitted that when compared to overseas, the naturalness of much of the basin was what made it special. She said this characteristic needed to be protected.

She was concerned at the potential impact caused by the proposed node sites identified on the plan, and said the creation of nine new nodes around Tekapo, each potentially having up to 10 houses, would impact on the landscape and even affect the night sky.

Mrs Braun-Elwert believed the establishment of nodes was an inefficient use of infrastructure.

She requested the basin not become dotted with satellite hamlets. Landowners will continue to dominate the next two days of hearings.

Today Environment Canterbury will ask that landscape controls be increased, while tomorrow five landowner representatives will make submissions along with Forest and Bird and the Department of Conservation.

On Friday the officers' report, with recommendations to help the hearing panel make its decision, will be presented.

The hearing panel will eventually makes a recommendation to the Mackenzie District Council which the council may choose to adopt or reject.

- © Fairfax NZ News