One Commissioner Only For Wind Farm Related Hearing

A resource consent hearing for an alternative access road to the proposed Waitahora Wind Farm will be heard by a single commissioner, the council has decided.

Cr David Lea will determine the application by Contact Energy Ltd instead of delegated authority being given to the usual panel of three commissioners.

The application is for a land use consent to “construct, use and maintain an access road from a borrow pit to the proposed wind farm site at Waitahora.”

Although submissions to the original application were heard jointly by Horizons Regional Council, Tararua District Council and an independent commissioner, manager environmental services Mike Brown recommended that Cr Lea’s background knowledge was best suited to hear the supplementary application.
Cr Lea represented Tararua during the first round which was subsequently declined and then appealed to the Environment Court, which is now sponsoring mediation among the various parties.

One of the issues of concern to local residents was the effect of 58 truck movements per day carrying metal from a borrow pit along the Waitahora and Waitohora Valley Roads.
Contact Energy has now identified an alternative access contained within the property.