Tarras airport plan: Controversial project’s new research reveals runway will impact village

Christchurch Airport has released new research on its controversial Central Otago airport plans and confirmed the runway will have “slightly more” impact on the nearby village of Tarras.

Environmental experts have slammed the report, claiming Christchurch Airport is “in denial” and locals have said the report could spell the end of the village.

The proposal to build a new international airport at the picturesque Central Otago site has sparked debate for more than three years, with opposition from many Tarras locals and environmentalists.

Chief among the concerns has been the airport’s close location to Tarras, a village of fewer than 300 residents.

Until today, residents were left to speculate how the airport might affect their village’s future, including fears that planes would fly low over the school and that infrastructure would buckle.

Now, Christchurch Airport has made its project research public, confirming the airport would impact the village but justifying the need to build the site.

Until the release of the latest research, Tarras locals were left to speculate how the airport might impact their village’s future. Photo / Hamish Clark

Christchurch Airport chose the site, of about 800 hectares, because of its “good connectivity” to popular tourist spots such as Queenstown, Cromwell and Alexandra.

It hopes the proposed airport will bring overseas tourists to a part of the country where nearly $3.8 billion was spent in the year ending March 2020.

The new research includes a comparison between two ideal options for where the airport’s runway would point.

Christchurch Airport’s preferred option would be to align the runway, which will stretch up to 2.6km, between Lindis Valley and Lake Dunstan Valley.

That would avoid planes flying over already-busy South Island towns and accommodating almost all aircraft, as well as exposing fewer households to noise, it says.

It is proposed to build the airport on about 800 hectares near Tarras.

But the research also shows that option, if selected, would have “slightly more of an impact on the village of Tarras” due to its “closer proximity” to the point from which planes flying north would arrive.

It would also increase the effect on properties based on State Highway 8 and the highway itself.

Christchurch Airport acknowledged that those living near the airport would be more likely to be exposed to its “visual effects” and plane movements, which would “require assessment”.

It’s not news to Sustainable Tarras spokesperson Suze Keith, who has been fighting for Tarras to have a say in whether the proposal becomes reality.

“Even if the runway was on a different angle, of course it will have an impact on the village,” she told the Herald.

“It threatens the future of the local school, the cafe and the shops. They’ll have noise and air quality issues, so it potentially means the end of Tarras Village, which is the heart of the community.”

The airport’s chief strategy and stakeholder officer, Michael Singleton, said time was spent understanding the range of runway lengths achievable on the site.

“[The runway option] stood out for its safety, operational efficiency and having a lesser noise impact on the communities,” he said.

The latest research shows the likely noise impact of flights coming into the proposed Tarras airport.

“The alignment also provides greater flexibility for aircraft types, which is particularly important to enabling the next generation of low emissions.”

The desire to build an airport in Central Otago is based on the region’s projected demand for flight connections in the next 30 years.

Research shows it will exceed the South Island’s current airport capacity by 2040.

Christchurch Airport also mentioned the environmental impact of not building the site, saying that, as Central Otago tourism increases, more people will travel by car to reach parts of the region, increasing fuel emissions.

Building the airport is believed to fix both these issues.

However, Professor Robert McLachlan of Massey University believes the proposal is an attempt by Christchurch Airport to dodge any particular emission regulations that might be passed in the coming years.

“We’re talking about jumbo jets flying in many hours, constantly, during the day,” he told the Herald.

“Aviation is the only big industry in New Zealand planning to increase its emissions, and it can do that because the industry isn’t regulated.”

McLachlan, who has written several papers on aviation emissions, said the country had to “face up” to the issues of sustainable tourism.

“Christchurch Airport is in denial, they’re not accepting responsibility for the greenhouse emissions from any aircraft there.”

Singleton believes the airport is the region’s best option to tackle climate issues.

“[Central Otago’s] economy depends on the efficient movement of people and products,” he said.

“While we’re not making decisions yet, we are making sure we fully understand the impact of the options both now and for future generations.”

A concept of the airport's north terminal.

Singleton said demand for travel to and from Central Otago would continue to grow if air capacity was constrained.

“If we do nothing, there could be between two and three people vying for every available seat to and from the region by 2050.”

The research considers the proposed airport’s impact on Central Otago’s road network, which, according to the data, already needs upgrading regardless of whether the airport is built.

Christchurch Airport believes the proposed Tarras site would reduce travel times on certain roads and possibly open the door to a hyper-regional public transport option.

Objection to the proposal grew in 2020 when it was discovered Christchurch Airport was buying up hundreds of hectares of farmland around Tarras.

Since then, protest groups have formed to oppose any airport construction and academics have written to the Government asking for the plan to be stopped.

Keith said she’s not satisfied with the amount of consultation lobby groups have had the chance to take part in.

“We’ve got many outstanding questions we’ve forwarded to the airport, in particular the business case for the need.”

She said lobby groups had tried unsuccessfully to arrange meetings between Christchurch Airport and the locals most affected by the proposal, particularly those bordering the likely runway.

However, she noted that members of the community would be meeting airport officials today on the matter.

“We’ll wait and see if they’re willing to answer the really important questions around the business case for this billions of dollars of public expenditure.”