Chorus calls temporary halt on Moana Rd cable

Moana Road resident Nev Manning demonstrates the difference between the existing electrical cable and Chorus’s proposed black fibre optic cable, which residents say will disrupt their view. Picture by Paul Rickard.

RESPONDING to the anger caused by its plans to use an overhead cable to bring Ultra Fast Broadband to Okitu, telecommunications company Chorus today announced it was putting a temporary halt to planned work.

A resource consent review of the plan to use power poles to run an overhead fibre optic cable saw a revised plan approved earlier this week. That sparked anger from residents fearful of having their seaviews spoiled when they were told of plans at a public meeting on Tuesday, with at least one resident promising “civil disobedience”.

In the wake of that, Chorus stakeholder communications manager Jo Seddon today said the company was now “exploring” some of the issues raised by residents — including avoiding the street altogether.

“We do try to work with our communities where we can and by being open and honest about what we are doing. Because we believe in fronting up, we went to the meeting and listened to some of the suggestions made by residents on Tuesday. While we certainly can’t guarantee that any of them can be achieved, we are doing our best to see if they are possible.”

Chorus consider suggestionsSuggestions included raising the cable so that it is between the two sets of power cables (high voltage and low voltage), and taking Moana Road off the build schedule altogether.

“We can’t go between the two sets of power lines but we are seeing if it is possible to put the cable on the cross arm, meaning it will be the same height as the low voltage lines. This has its own set of problems so it may not be feasible, but we are trying.”

Miss Seddon said the option of not doing the build at all would need to be worked through and would possibly require agreement from all residents along Moana Road.

“We are also looking at other options like feeding the houses from the street behind, although that would require permission from those landowners.”

Undergrounding the network would still be “very difficult” to achieve.

“Especially as some residents have encroached their boundaries out into the council road reserve where utilities are typically placed. We have retaining walls, gardens and sandy soil to contend with, where if we dig we could compromise the whole structure. It is not just a matter of putting in the main cable, it is also then connecting from that cable into the houses.”

Why is the cable black?Residents had also questioned why the cable was black.

“This is because the black has been shown to stand up better to ultra-violet light and be more resilient than other colours. Chorus looked at other colours, like blue and grey, but they actually show up more against some skylines than the black, especially once it is coated in salt spray and dust.”

Originally cables were inadvertently installed at the incorrect height and Chorus removed them after becoming aware of the mistake. Miss Seddon said that, as stated on Tuesday, residents can rest assured that there will be no additional overhead lines to within their properties.

“There has been a bit of scaremongering but I can confirm that, once people request service, we will follow the existing path to their house below ground. This means if they now have their phone and internet services below ground, we will not be installing overhead leads. In the meantime the build will be put on hold once more and Chorus promises to keep residents and the council informed of progress.”

The Mayor's proposalBack in November, Chorus representatives told a Gisborne District Council meeting that it would incur an additional $300,000 cost to underground cables for the whole road. Following that statement, councillors unanimously supported a proposal from Mayor Meng Foon to ask the Minister for Communications for the ministry to cover that cost.

More than seven months later, Mr Foon told The Gisborne Herald he had still not received a reply from the Minister but he supported the community desire to see it all underground.

“My thoughts are that it is best not to install UFB if it is not underground,” he said. “Chorus should only install underground and not proceed with overhead. Overhead appears Stone Age in today’s futuristic world and I support the annoyed Wainui community. Most people in Wainui have got their current providers and many have said to me that the current providers offer a good service and the speed is good.”