Landowners' rage at $824m pylon project

Rob Storey in a paddock at his home on Mangapiko Valley Rd. Photo / Sarah Ivey

A board of inquiry has approved a Transpower proposal to construct a transmission line from Whakamaru to South Auckland.

But there is still opposition from some of the 314 property owners affected by the proposal.

Transpower yesterday welcomed The Resource Management Act Board of Inquiry's draft decision for it to begin its North Island Grid Upgrade Project.

The decision will be subject to comment from interested parties for 19 days before the board makes a final decision this year.

The project, which has an estimated cost of $824 million, would see new transmission lines put up between Whakamaru, near Tokoroa, and Otahuhu in South Auckland.

Transpower said it wanted to start building access roads as early as next year and begin building pylons at the same time.

The new lines will be capable of carrying 400kV but will initially be operated at 220kV and cranked up by 2030.

The proposal has met ongoing resistance from environmentalists, farmers and lifestyle block owners whose lands are among the 314 properties affected by the new towers - some up to 70m in height.

Landowner Ros Sellers, of Te Miro near Cambridge, said despite the announcement she was "not going to sit by and watch it happen".

If the plans are fully implemented Ms Sellers can expect a 66m-high pylon in a neighbouring paddock with its wires hanging over her driveway.

"They have a lot of easements and purchases to negotiate before they're anywhere near starting so in the meantime we will just gather our forces and just carry on."

Ms Sellers also doubted Transpower chief executive Patrick Strange's claims the national grid operator was willing to establish "respectful and fair relationships with affected landowners".

"They have no idea of what the impact on the community will be ... there's the devastation, the loss of income and the health issues and no dollar value could be put on those things."

Rob Storey, a Waikato spokesman for the New Era Energy group which has long opposed the new line, said the decision was "unfortunate but expected".

"It was a long shot to think it would be turned down but it's still not a decision we are very happy with," he said.

Mr Storey said the process had been a long and tiring one.

"For a lot of people who have sold out to Transpower it has been a case that they have been worn down and did not want it to go on any longer."

Dr Strange said the project was vital to New Zealand's economy. "The upper North Island has experienced several issues with electricity supply in recent years, illustrating the need for the increased capacity that this project will provide, long into the future."

A Transpower spokeswoman said the organisation had agreements either through easements or ownership with 56 per cent of the affected properties.

She said the national grid operator had spent around $150 million buying 74 properties affected on the line route and eight for substation sites or on the underground cable route.