Fonterra Wants To Use More Rail

 

Fonterra wants to make more use of rail to service its South island Edendale dairy processing plant –and today won resource consent.

The consent application for additional rail facilities was approved by the Southland district council but was subject to 14 conditions. The application sought consent for a new rail siding and a new rail crossing over State Highway 1, about 650m north of the recently constructed dry goods store, and for 24-hour seven-day-a-week use of these.

Fonterra representatives had outlined at the hearing the siding and crossing would facilitate greater use of rail for transporting products, and would also significantly reduce the use of the existing southern rail crossing to the Fonterra plant over State Highway 1, in central Edendale.

Eight of the 10 submissions were opposed to the application, with concerns expressed about:

  • potential noise effects
  • potential adverse effects from changes in road traffic movements which may be brought about by the new rail crossing over the state highway
  • adverse effects on existing amenity levels
  • potential adverse effects of vibration from train movements, and adverse effects on property values

NZTA, as administrator of State Highway 1, conditionally supported the application.

During the course of the hearing, the committee received expert technical evidence from the company’s acoustic consultant on potential noise and vibration effects.

The extensive conditions imposed on the approved consent include detailed monitoring to ensure that all conditions, including conditions relating to noise and vibration, are compiled with fully. Both the applicant and submitters can appeal to the Environment Court.

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1 Comments

 
  1. ingolfson says:

    If I didn’t know that just about everyone these days has to go through these hoops, I would have struck that up as another anti-rail issue. But it seems just good old nimby-ism?

 

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