Palmerston North City Council planning services manager Jeff Baker confirmed the minimum distance a house can be built from a wind turbine is 1.5km, as set out in the Rural Zone in the District Plan.
“This only relates to cases where a resource consent has been granted for a wind farm, whether or not the turbines have been constructed, which states that dwellings should be a minimum distance of 1.5km.”
There are also precedents in other countries, and the residents are asking for all four councils involved - Tararua District Council, Horizons Regional Council, Masterton District Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council – to follow the precedents.
In a social impact report he is currently writing, Maxwell says a High Court ruling in the UK stated a minimum distance of 3km.
Residents who will be impacted by the wind farm say there will be issues with noise, and Maxwell says one also has concerns about whether the wind farm will affect his use of his plane for topdressing.
They are also concerned about the amount of traffic that would be using Old Coach Road, which would have to be widened, creating further disruption to residents along that road.
Maxwell says it’s not that they object to the proposal itself, just its location, and they’re asking Meridian to come to the table to talk over the residents’ concerns and perhaps rethink the proposal.
The company recently had a pop-up shop in Eketāhuna, and Maxwell says that was in response to the Hastwell/Mt Munro Protection Society meeting with then-Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty.
He says attendance at the pop-up was boosted by posts via social media.
Meanwhile, he and other residents are hoping to make submissions to Meridian once the submission period opens up in an effort to be heard.
McAnulty says he has been working closely with affected residents to ensure their concerns are properly heard and are a major consideration in the consent process.
“My job as a local MP is to ensure proper process is being followed. It is important that there are opportunities for public participation in the development [of] national standards, District Plan provisions, consent hearings and conditions of consent.
“We know renewable energy should be promoted. Proper process that is easily understood and gives everyone a chance to participate should ensure that wind farms are erected in an appropriate place.”
Meridian’s head of renewable construction, Rebecca Knott, says based on the company’s experience in wind farm consenting, a blanket setback doesn’t reflect the actual effects on the surrounding properties.
“The topography, vegetation and location of buildings are among the matters taken into account when assessing the effects of a wind farm.
“This is why we have assessed the potential effects of noise and views from properties on each of the nearby residences and relied on recognised standards such as NZS 6808:2010, which assesses wind farm noise in relation to nearby houses.”
She says the feedback from the public at the pop-up display in Eketāhuna was “extremely positive and supportive of the way we are working”.
“There will be further opportunity for residents’ views to be heard when our wind farm application is publicly notified, and we encourage people to make a submission.”
