Castle Hill Wind Farm Submission
Robert and Lynne Woodhouse Family
and others
6th December 2011
1. My name is Robert John Woodhouse and I in partnership with my wife Lynne
Margaret Woodhouse farm Rakaunui. Rakaunui comprises of some 980 ha
including the site of Rakaunui Township extending both sides of Route 52, Huia
Road and East to Waihoki Road. We run almost exclusively sheep for meat and
wool numbering some 15,500 head. Rakaunui has been farmed exclusively by
the Woodhouse family since Jack and Emily Woodhouse settled in 1895. We live
at 11853 Route 52 in the house built by my Great Grandfather Jack Woodhouse.
Land farmed by his Mother in law Barbara Roberts (my Great Great
Grandmother) has long been included. This makes our children the 6th
generation on the farm and the 5th generation to live in the same house.
Photo taken 1963 Alfred Woodhouse, John Woodhouse, Emily Woodhouse and Robert
Woodhouse. Four generations, I still live in this house.
1. I was born in Pahiatua Hospital in 1958 and apart from spending 4 years boarding at
Wairarapa College 1971 – 74, I have lived exclusively on Rakaunui. Along with farming
Rakaunui for 37 years, I am currently Licensee for Pongaroa Early Years Pre-School
and Treasurer for Pongaroa Community Buses. I served on Pongaroa School BOT for
10 years including 2 terms as Chairman.
2. Lynne married me in 1987 and has lived on Rakaunui ever since. Along with actively
farming Rakaunui she is a relief driver for Pongaroa Community Buses, competes with
the Wairarapa Endurance/CTR Horse Club and is involved with Wairarapa Riding for
the Disabled Association.
3. We have 3 children Samantha, Kathryn and Olivia who have educational, sporting and
social contacts in Masterton and Palmerston North.
4. My mother Nancy Woodhouse lives in Masterton and keeps a house on Rakaunui
travelling Route 52 between the two.
5. Martin Hull farms on Coast Road Pongaroa within view of CHWF turbines and has
family and business contacts in Masterton including a child boarding at Wairarapa
College.
6. Dinah Bowie farms on Manuhara Road Pongaroa within view of CHWF turbines and
has family and business contacts in Masterton including a child boarding at St
Mathews College.
7. Lynne and I are both members of Castle Hill Wind farm Community Action Group
(CHWCAG) And we both fully endorse their submission.
8. We respectfully ask you as Commissioners not to grant consent for building Castle Hill
Wind Farm because many adverse effects cannot be mitigated. If you feel unable to
deny consent we ask you to consider the mitigation suggested to make life tolerable.
We have examined the different effects in both the Construction Phase and the
Production Phase.
Construction Phase
Road Design Route 52 (Tiraumea to Rakaunui at Rimu Rd intersection)
9. This section of road some 11km in length is single lane, narrow and winding, with a
series of short 2 lane sections comprising of about 1km in total. Rakaunui has a Route
52 road boundary of about 5km, with half of that being both sides of the road. This
road is proposed as the access to Turbine cluster “A” at both Rakaunui Road and
Rimu Roads. As identified by Genesis this road doesn’t even meet the minimum
recommended standards for the traffic volumes already using the road. Suggested
volume increases during construction of CHWF will render the road completely
inadequate and totally unsafe.
10. There are places a car and heavy vehicle cannot safely pass (4.2 metre width,
Genesis) and I personally have experienced many near misses. This section doesn’t
figure in the injury accident report however non-injury accidents are common and
are not usually reported. Low vehicle speeds and volumes contribute to non-injury
outcomes.
11. Route 52 was State Highway 52 and was sadly neglected. In the 1980s this road was
identified as one of only 2 highways in NZ that was still unsealed and unimproved. I
was involved in a community group that lobbied Government to improve the road.
Government of the day responded by revoking the highway status. However Tararua
District Council negotiated that the road be sealed to reduce costs to ratepayers
before they agreed to take over funding of the road. Traffic volumes were light on
this section so only a single lane 5 metre carriageway was built on minimal
foundation. Residents were promised that the road would be widened to 2 lanes
during repairs after flood damage events (a regular occurrence due to the very
unstable nature of the mudstone country)
12. Upgrading Route 52 to meet specification will be a major undertaking. This area is
crisscrossed with earthquake faultlines, deep seated earth slides, greasy back slips
and bentonite. These features make road building in this area an increased
engineering challenge. Bob Smith, the only engineer with long term particular
experience in this area has passed away and it may be difficult to find engineers with
practical experience in these problems. Local knowledge will be essential and we
wish to be consulted on upgrade design within Rakaunui road frontage.
Stock Movement
13. Traditionally roads have been used as stock access on farms and this was this case at
Rakaunui when stock was regularly driven along the 5km Route 52 road frontage.
Over the last 10 years and as the road has been sealed we have built stock lanes and
now constrict stock movement to 2 crossing points and less than 1km of droving from
the woolshed.
14. To move sheep around Rakaunui Farm is essential for management, health and safety
and animal welfare. Mobs of sheep often exceed 2500 head and it takes 15 minutes
to cross the road and up to 30 minutes to drive a mob of this size 1km. Likely monthly
total crossings
November
Main Shear
10,000 head
20 crossings
December
Weaning/Lamb shear
10,000 head
20 crossings
Drenching
5000 head
6 crossings
Drenching
8000 head
8 crossings
Dipping
15000 head
30 crossing
January
February
Drenching
7000 head
8 crossings
Shearing
2000 head
4 crossings
Drenching
6000 head
6 crossings
Crutching
6000 head
12 crossings
April
Drenching
5000 head
6 crossings
May
Drenching
4000 head
6 crossings
Shearing
1500 head
4 crossings
June
Drenching
4000 head
6 crossings
July
Drenching
3500 head
6 crossings
Crutching
5500 head
10 crossings
Drenching
3000 head
6 crossings
Shearing
2000 head
4 crossings
September
Drenching
2500 head
4 crossings
October
Drenching
2000 head
4 crossings
March
August
15. Sheep movement is highest November to April. Given Genesis proposed traffic
volumes during construction conflict between heavy trucks and mobs of our sheep
will be regular. Traffic will experience delays and people, dogs and sheep will at
increased risk of injury and the farm will be very difficult to run.
Farm Machinery Movement
16. Rakaunui has a programme of fertilizer application, cultivation, silage making and
roading and water supply maintenance. We run a fleet of 5 wheel tractors, 3 heavy
trucks, 2 bulldozers, an excavator and a wheeled loader. Our Case MX210
wheeltractor weighs 11t, 210hp and measures 3.4 metres in width and is fully road
legal. Rakaunui has access points on Rimu road, Route 52, Huia road and Waihoki
road and we will be traversing these roads especially during summer months. At
current traffic volumes we experience few problems however given Genesis
proposed volumes conflicts will occur. A 2.5 metre Genesis truck and our 3.4 metre
wheeltractor cannot pass on a 5 metre road. We may well be towing 2 or more
trailed implements and it will be almost impossible for us to backup so the time taken
to disconnect our gear and clear the road will lead to considerable delays.
Travel to town
17. We need to travel Route 52 to Masterton. The simple fact is, this end of Route 52 was
never designed for more than light traffic volumes. The delays and frustrations from
overloading this road is a more than a minor effect. I drive heavy vehicles and I know
that there are very few places to safely pull off the road to let following traffic past.
High opposing traffic volumes will hinder safe passing of heavy or slow vehicles.
Traffic Noise/times
18. Our house is situated 30 metres from the road boundary and my bedroom is situated
on the front roadside corner. Currently I sleep well but like most rural people I am
very security conscious so I observe most traffic going past at night. I don’t sleep well
in high traffic areas in town. Heavy trucks make much more noise/vibrations than
cars. High night time traffic volumes may well have serious implications on me and
my family’s health due to sleep disruption.
Safety/school buses
19. Pongaroa Community Buses runs 5 Ford Transit buses delivering children to Pongaroa
School and Pongaroa Early Years Preschool. Being community owned these buses are
available to pick up any children within the Pongaroa School catchment zone with
extensions possible for pre-schoolers. The halfway point between Pongaroa and
Alfredton schools falls just south of Tiraumea. Currently Pongaroa Community Buses
operates one bus in the proposed Genesis construction zone, travelling Route 52 and
Waihoki road to pick up children. There is the potential to pick up pre-schoolers on
Haunui road and Route 52 south of Tiraumea and future extensions to Huia and Rimu
roads.
20. Pongaroa Community Buses is experienced at providing a service on narrow
dangerous rural roads with low traffic volumes. Safety will never be compromised.
Buses are replaced after 3 years so the latest safety technology is used and all
passengers have a full 3 point sash safety belt. The drivers are all local, very
experienced and highly trained. The residents are very aware of school bus times and
warn bus drivers and other traffic of conflicts.
21. There has been one injury accident in the last ten years on the Range road when a
4wd ute was unable to stop on the gravel surface and slid into the stopped bus. Even
at low total speeds the impact was enormous with the Ford Courier ute behind a
steel bullbar being destroyed and the near new Ford Transit Bus needing $29,000
worth of repairs. Luckily no children were on the bus and the bus driver was unhurt. I
was the first of Pongaroa Community Buses Management Committee on the scene
and I do not wish to ever attend another school bus accident.
22. With the high traffic volumes and very high percentage of heavy trucks on Route 52
and Waihoki roads during the construction phase I believe that the school bus service
will have to be withdrawn for safety reasons. Radios and other warning devices will
be totally inadequate mitigation. The only solution would be to upgrade the roads
(Route 52 Rimu road intersection to Tiraumea and Waihoki road to the end of the
construction zone) to a 2 lane sealed carriageway or to ban all construction traffic
during school bus hours (8.00 to 9.00 am and 3.00 to 4.00pm)
Production Phase
Disruption to enjoyment of amenities/business/health and safety
23. Once built the CHWF will have a profound detrimental effect on the running of
Rakaunui, the ability to do our day to day business and our enjoyment of our
property
Visual
24. Rakaunui is surrounded by CHWF windmills. Cluster “A” to the North and West has
turbines 2.5km from our house and hard on our farm boundary with Te Rimu Station.
Cluster “B” to the south 3.4km will be visible to the other 2 residences on the farm
and from our garden. Boffa claims that visual effect will be nil due to screening
planting. The fact is the screening trees are a mixture of oaks, elms, chestnuts and
other deciduous trees and will be bare for 7 months of the year. Cluster “A” turbines
will be visible from all the front rooms of the house including the kitchen table. Boffa
also completely fails to take into account that our working hours are spent on the
farm often on ridge lines where at least Clusters “A, B, C and D” and perhaps “E, F and
G” will be visible. We can see Mount Holdsworth, Rangitumau, Waitawhiti and
Castlehill high country from vantage points on the property.
25. We don’t like looking at windmills.
26. 150 metre tip height turbines viewed from less than 3km are intimidating unnatural
constructions that draw your eye to movement. Some Cluster “A” turbines are that
close to our house and most of “A” and some of “B” are within that distance of
Rakaunui boundaries.
27. Worse than that, in Cluster “A” one 110m Rotor Turbine Corridor circle touches our
property and another circle is bisected by our boundary (Castle Hill Wind Farm
Woodhouse General Information May 2011) using the scale on that drawing
(35mm/1km) and assuming the centre of the circle is the preferred site for the
turbine, that places a 110m rotor turbine within 50m and a corridor of 0m to 210m
from our property and another at 210m and a corridor of 0m to 420m. A fill area and
an underground cable touch our property. This hill top is a sacred family site and is
therefore also a serious cultural issue. It is unreasonable to expect us to be disrupted
by turbines that close.
28. The specifications of the amount and height of fill to be placed against our property
has not been revealed.
29. More than half the total CHWF windmill sites are likely to be visible from our
property. Depending on how many mills are actually built, this could total more than
100. Most of the Mighty River Project on the Puketoi Range as proposed will be
visible and probably some of the Waitahora Turbines. Negativity generated by the
cumulative effects of these projects will be reinforced every time a windmill is
sighted.
30. When we travel on the road it will be worse. The iconic view from the
Pongaroa/Pahiatua road at the Puketoi Saddle looking South (Alfredton Action Group
submission) will be badly polluted. Travelling South to Masterton down Route 52
through Alfredton and the Whangaho valley will expose most of the CHWF Turbine
sites.
Noise
35. CHWF turbines will be close enough for us to hear. We endorse the CHWCAG
submission on noise. Genesis (Marshall Day Acoustics, Residence Information Pack
May 2011) estimates that noise will approximate 34 dB at our residence. We are not
aware of any background noise studies being done at our residence and it is likely
that noise effects will vary due to many factors unique to each site.
36. We assume that noise will be audible and will be at least at nuisance levels. This
opens the possibility of health effects due to sleep disturbance.
37. Also to consider is the fact that some proposed turbine are very close to our
property/workplace and noise in these areas will exceed 40dB.
Radio/cell phone/broadband
35. Telephone landline.
Our telephone is connected by underground cable to an
exchange sited approx. 11810 Route 52 and from there via a radio link through
Cluster “A” to Mount Butters. This link doesn’t appear to have been assessed. We
need assurance that any unforeseen effect compromising our Telephone will be
mitigated.
36. Cell phone/Mobile Broadband We connect to the cell phone network at Mount
Butters. The radio signal passes through Cluster “A”. Cell phones/Mobile Broadband
are vital for communication on Rakaunui. This is important for health and safety and
efficient running of our business. The signal is good to marginal to no signal at
different sites. Any degradation of the signal will reduce the effectiveness of this
vital link. We need assurance that any unforeseen effect compromising our Cell
phone/Mobile Broadband will be mitigated.
Flicker effect
37. Shadow flicker is the moving shadow thrown by sunlight passing though rotating
turbine blades (CHWF telecommunication, aviation and shadow flicker information
04/11) considered significant within 10 times the rotor diameter or 1.1km from a
turbine. A moving shadow passing under a horse especially a horse unfamiliar with
the effect is a significant safety hazard for the rider (Wind Farm Threat in Wales,
Horse and Hound 12/7/04)
38. Horses are essential for safe transportation around steeper ground and during wet
seasons on Rakaunui.
39. The hill country conditioning of long distance endurance horses is an essential
component of the training required for the enjoyment of competing at NZ
Equestrian Endurance Horse events for Lynne, Kathryn and Olivia Woodhouse and
their friends.
40. Lynne, Samantha, Kathryn and Olivia Woodhouse and their friends ride for pleasure
around the hills of Rakaunui. Horses belonging to Wairarapa Riding for the Disabled
spend the school holidays at Rakaunui and are conditioned through hill country
work.
41. A significant area of Rakaunui including some of the best riding trails will become
unsafe for horse riding.
Aircraft obstruction
42. Light aircraft operation is essential for health and safety and efficient running of
Rakaunui.
43. The safest and only practical method of applying fertilizer to steep hill country is by
aircraft. The placement of turbines very close to Rakaunui will create areas that
cannot be top-dressed and will increase costs by increasing flight times to negotiate
turbine towers.
44. The saddle in the Puketoi Ranges North of Mount Butters directly over the
Pongaroa/Pahiatua road is very important for light aircraft flying under visual rules.
Low cloud and fog can completely isolate the area East of Puketoi Ranges except for
the small open area through the gap in the Puketoi Range (referred as “shooting the
gap” by many of the old fert plane pilots). Light planes need to operate in light air
often only found early in the morning. Flying directly through the gap and not
waiting for the fog to lift adds many possible flying hours.
45. The gap is often used by the Rescue Helicopter and while they can usually fly around
the Puketoi Range the extra 15 minutes may prove to be fatal in a life and death
situation. Cluster “A” is situated directly in line with the gap and the extra height
required to fly over the turbines may force light aircraft into the clouds effectively
“closing the gap”.
Lapse period
46. We endorse the CHWCAG submission on the lapse period and construction times of
5 years lapse and 7 years construction. We feel that CHWF is very unlikely to be built
and that it would be very unfair and unsettling for residents to have an unfulfilled
consent affecting their planning for years to come. If CHWF is to be build that seems
a more than adequate time.
Transmission lines
47. CHWF application includes no provision for external transmission lines. These lines
would be 220kva lines on at least 60m towers and require consent under the
Tararua District Plan. CHWF cannot be built without a connection to the National
Grid. Mighty River is seeking consent for a line to their proposed Puketoi Wind farm.
A line directly between the CHWF Waihoki substation and the Puketoi substation
may pass over or very close to Rakaunui Farm. This would open a new set of
detrimental effects to be planned for including construction including an increased
cumulative effect.
Tower removal
48. Derelict infrastructure including obsolete turbines remaining at the end of the
project would be an environmental blight. NZ Government has signalled that
Genesis Energy will be at least partially privatised. There seems no mention that the
company will be Government guaranteed. Advancements in energy generation
technology over the next 50 years may render energy generating companies relying
on older technology financially at risk. There must be a mechanism in place to
ensure that bankruptcy does not hinder end of project rehabilitation.
Mitigation
49. Stock movement
Legislating Rakaunui livestock off the road would cause unreasonable hardship and
lights and warning signs would make the exercise safer but would not address the
disruption to both the traffic or farm.
Two possible solutions.
Duplicate facilities so road crossing is unnecessary. Woolshed, yards and loading
race required.
Build an underpass link under Route 52
50. Farm Machinery Movement
Build 4 metre wide internal farm roads so use of external roads is unnecessary.
51. Travel to Town
Build slow traffic passing bays along Route 52 inside the construction zone.
52. Traffic Noise/Times
Restrict construction traffic to day light hours
53. Safety/School buses
Upgrade Pongaroa school bus routes (Route 52 and Waihoki Road) to 2 lane sealed
roads
Or
Restrict construction traffic to outside school bus travel times. (8.00 to 9.00 am and
3.00 to 4.00 pm)
54. Visual
Cannot be mitigated. Offset required
Delete closest most prominent Turbines (2)
55. Noise
House and workplace. Cannot be mitigated. Offset required
56. Radio/cell phone/mobile broadband
Monitor for unforeseen effects then build alternative infrastructure if required.
57. Flicker Effect/Shadow
Delete any turbine within 1km to the East or West and 0.5km to the North of the
boundary of any property with horses.
58. Aircraft Obstruction
Further study
Delete Cluster ”A”
59. Transmission Lines
Demand transmission lines be included in application.
No mitigation possible , offset required.