Blueskin Energy Ltd v Dunedin City Council

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

Environment Court of New Zealand

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

27/06/2017

LITIGATION TYPE

Project Approval - Mitigation

SUBJECT MATTER

Wind farm

REVIEW TYPE

Merits review

SUMMARY

(Excerpt from Linxplus case summary from Lexis)

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT - unsuccessful appeal against refusal to grant resource consent for wind turbine - respondent (Council) denied application for resource consent to construct and operate three wind turbines on Porteous Hill in Blueskin Bay - applicant appealed - substantially modified proposal - now proposed single, taller wind turbine - maximum blade tip height of 110m at an elevation of 401m - applicant was incorporated by a community trust (Trust) concerned about climate change - pursued site that would be visible from within Blueskin Bay on the assumption the community would prefer a visual reference to any community owned turbine …

HELD: appeal dismissed - resource consent refused - (1) application was not contrary to the relevant plans when each of them was considered as a whole; - (2) granting consent would not promote the purpose of the RMA - EnvC not satisfied the landscape's values should stand aside for the benefits of the proposal

CASE DOCUMENTS

Blueskin Energy Ltd v Dunedin City Council [2017] NZEnvC 150