Frustration as resource consents appeal delays Lake restoration

Major activities to restore the environmental health of Lake Horowhenua will now be delayed for up to a year after an appeal has been made against resource consents for the work.

At the end of last year a panel of independent commissioners granted consents for several activities put forward by Horowhenua District Council and Horizons Regional Council. These included weed harvesting to reduce the effects of ammonia toxicity and toxic algal blooms, constructing a fish pass on the Hokio Stream and installing a sediment trap where the Arawhata Stream feeds into the Lake.

Chair of the Lake Horowhenua Accord, Matt Sword, who also chairs the Lake Horowhenua Trust representing the Muaūpoko beneficial owners, said the appeal means there will now need to be a lengthy Environment Court process.

Mr Sword believed the whole community, in particular many of the Muaūpoko owners, would share the frustration of the two councils and fellow Accord members including the Lake Horowhenua Trust, Horowhenua Lake Domain Board and the Department of Conservation.

“We were already seeing some positive results through the Lake Horowhenua Accord. Sadly the gains to be made are being impeded. Construction of the sediment trap and fish pass would have begun in the next month or so, the boat ramp would have been built by mid-year and the weed harvesting could have begun in September. However, now the earliest that any work could start will be the end of the year,” he said.

“This is a shame as the consents for these leading projects would have allowed us to get on with getting things done, which is exactly what the beneficial owners are demanding of us. This would bring real benefits to Lake Horowhenua’s water quality and ecology, benefiting the iwi and wider community. Implementing these important first steps do not prevent us from exploring other Lake clean-up interventions in the future. This is only the beginning.”

Horowhenua District Mayor Brendan Duffy says the appeal is a blow to the united efforts to restore the Lake’s environmental health.

“It is hugely disappointing. A lot of work has gone on to date and just when we were given the green light to get underway, we can’t as a result of one member of the public hell-bent on derailing the progress. Now we can't start the real clean-up because that person, the one most vocal about the Lake’s condition, is now preventing that from happening. How ironic is that?”

“I’m sure the wider community simply want this restoration work to press ahead.”

ENDS

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