Line hostility dissolves

There has been no appeal to the Environment Court over Wel Networks' resource consent for a 25 kilometre 110kV electricity line between its proposed Te Uku wind farm and a Te Kowhai substation.

The new line, which will be supported on poles up to 17 metres high, will run from Te Kowhai to the Raglan Deviation and then via the existing electricity route to the wind farm.

Opponent Sean Cox described the line and associated substations as being "as obsolete as a horse buggy" and "a blot on the landscape", at a hearing in March, where Wel Networks revealed it had turned to Public Works Act provisions to acquire easements for the project from two unwilling landowners.

The appeal period has now passed, with Environmental Challenge the company overseeing the property and consenting processes attributing this to a "landowner first" policy.

Some 140 potentially affected parties were served notice of the proposal, with four making submissions in person.

Environmental Challenge identified 56 possible routes based on landowner feedback which meant more flexibility, according to managing director Laurence Sherriff. "... no-one has ended up opposing the project in the Environment Court. This is unheard-of for a project this size."

- © Fairfax NZ News