Farmers keep Transpower out until land rent issue sorted

Transpower wants to strengthen the foundations of the transmission towers. Photo / Greg Bowker

Farmers have stopped Transpower staff going on to their properties to work on the national electricity grid and are now threatening legal action as tensions increase over demands for compensation.

Transpower had sent out notices advising they wanted to go onto properties to do maintenance work on pylons in South Canterbury, but the local landowners have formed a united front, blocking access until they get an annual rental they say they deserve for having the towers on their land.

Jeremy Talbot, of the South Canterbury Federated Farmers' pylon committee, said Transpower workers arrived at the gate of one their members just after 8am yesterday and were met by a group of farmers.

"We explained the facts of life to them, in a pleasant and polite way, as we always do. And they have decided they better bugger off," Mr Talbot said.

The farmers had been prepared to call in police, but Mr Talbot said they were not going to do anything that stopped the electricity getting through.

Federated Farmers electricity spokesman Philip York said Transpower wanted to get onto the properties to strengthen the foundations of its transmission towers, increasing the land they occupied. This meant trespass, he said.

But Transpower rejected this.

"As owner and operator of the National Grid, we undertake this type of maintenance work all over the country, and it is well within our legal rights," said Transpower spokeswoman Rebecca Wilson. "We work directly with landowners when undertaking this type of work, and will continue to do so into the future."

Mr York said: "Transpower must follow the lead of the mobile [phone] operators as right now they don't pay a bean for the land a large percentage of its transmission infrastructure is sitting upon. It's getting a lot for nothing."