31 January 2006

Latest Transpower Pylon Plan Unacceptable

Manukau mayor Sir Barry Curtis says he’s appalled at the manner in which Transpower is conducting negotiations over its new transmission line with residents and stakeholders in the Counties Manukau region. The plan would see pylons extend across Clevedon.

“The Manukau City Council has an interest and a position on the route plan but has not been contacted or formally communicated with about the latest proposals, and that is unacceptable.

“Transpower’s approach of trying to pick off individual private property owners one by one is antiquated. It’s very distressing for landowners along the route and that is certainly not good practice for a 21st century government-owned SOE.

“However we have come to expect that kind of thing from Transpower.

“I believe Transpower is acting solely to meet its commercial targets and is not considering the wider social and environmental impacts of its pylon construction plans. As I have stated before, there needs to be more control of its activities to ensure a consistently wider approach is taken, and that would require changes to its legislative guidelines.

“I feel very strongly about this issue and the Council is committed to doing its best to stop the plan as it stands going ahead. We do not want to block planning for an essential upgrade of the power supply to the Auckland region, and we accept that there are technical limits to the extent to which the line can be put underground.

“However the solution that has been presented is unacceptable and will remain unacceptable to the Council even if Transpower ends up owning every property under the route.”

ENDS

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