West Wind project
By Chrys Ayley
Locals accept the turbine project on Terawhiti Station and Makara Farm is up and running but that does not mean to say they are happy. Vicky Wutzler of Makara Beach feels there is little point in moaning about the West Wind project now that it is up and running but said she feels cheated by Meridian Energy. She said the company ?told lies? and were ?antagonistic? throughout the consultation process and she felt they really steam rolled the local community. The whole process was ?a horrible experience? with the local community trampled on and she thinks Meridian Energy needs to be a bit more sensitive. Ms Wutzler said the impact of the turbines at the beach is not so bad and she is not bothered by noise and has no view of the turbines but for people with turbines on their boundary it would be awful. She anticipates noise from the turbines at Mill Creek and is not happy but is resigned to it happening. Robyn Maude lives in South Makara Road and has yet to feel the full impact but red lights on top of the turbines that flash when blades rotate are obtrusive even though Meridian Energy said the lights would not be visible. With only three turbines currently visible from the bedroom window she anticipates nine eventually, and is concerned about future noise. She said the submission process had little worth and although locals fought and financed their case it would not have made any difference against ?a company like that?. Although Meridian Energy was required by the Environment Court to mitigate many factors it does not seem much for what the residents have endured over the last few years, she said. ?We choose to live here because of the way it looked and we didn?t choose to live next door to an industrial power plant.? Looking ahead Ms Maude said she can see the whole ridge from Makara to Titahi Bay covered in windmills.
