TransGrid has announced a preferred corridor for their proposed power line to connect the Dumaresq (Bonshaw) and Lismore Substations.
“After an extended period of consultation and feedback from the community, aerial surveys, detailed constraint analyses, focus groups and environmental studies, TransGrid has selected the Northern Corridor as the ‘preferred corridor’,” said TransGrid’s Manager of Projects, Don Paton.
“The preferred corridor includes the northern study area which was put on display as an alternative in late July,” said Mr Paton.
“This is the corridor which provides the best balance of all issues considered, including topography, proximity to residences, vegetation, land use, visual impact, ecological and heritage constraints,” he said.
The preferred corridor has been selected on the basis that it:
- avoids dense clusters of landholdings
- minimises the number of affected properties
- reduces visual impacts
- has reasonable access from existing sealed roads
- avoids endangered ecological communities, threatened species and habitats
TransGrid’s consultation process investigated areas of community interest, including proximity to buildings, land use, avoiding smaller properties, landing strips, visual impact and terrain considerations.
“We have considered issues which are important to landowners and have selected the corridor which minimises broader community impacts.
“We have now refined the study areas to a 500 metre wide corridor for the majority of the proposed transmission line,” he said.
TransGrid will be in contact with landowners in the preferred corridor area over the coming days to discuss the preferred route selection process and associated environmental assessment.
TransGrid has written to landowners within the study areas by mail and will be contacting landowners by e-mail, phone and in person over the next week to ensure that landowners have access to information regarding the preferred corridor.
TransGrid plans to publicly exhibit the Environmental Assessment, which is expected in early 2010.
For those land owners in the Mole River region, TransGrid has selected corridor options for each of the two study areas, due to the similarity in constraints identified in both study areas.
“For the Mole River section, it is likely we will need further detailed environmental studies before a decision is made on the preferred corridor,” said Mr Paton.
This corridor will be refined into a preferred route over the next six months. The preferred route will be a 60m wide proposed easement and will be selected in direct consultation with affected landowners.
“We have produced a detailed report which evaluates the corridor alternatives, and explains why the preferred corridor was selected,” said Mr Paton.