Project West Wind Liaison Group Election Results

 Dave Bennett and Deb Compton have been elected as the two community representatives on the Project West Wind Community Liaison Group.


The postal vote for the two positions on the group closed at 5pm yesterday.

Wellington City Electoral Officer Ross Bly says a total of 180 residents from the Makara and Takarau Gorge area voted - which represented a 61.2% turnout.

The election result is as follows:

Dave Bennett 161 votes
Deb Compton 151 votes
Ted Smith 26 votes
The five-member liaison group has been formed as one of the conditions of the resource consent granted for the wind farm by the Environment Court.

The Court required that the group be formed and hold its first meeting within three months of the start of construction on the Meridian Energy wind farm.

The Makara-Ohariu Community Board, Wellington City Council and Meridian will also each also have a representative on the group.

The group's responsibilities:

Review Meridian's performance in terms of noise control, the impact of construction traffic and parking management.
Make recommendations to, and receive feedback from, Meridian in respect of any of the above matters.
Produce an annual report for presentation to Wellington City Council's Strategy and Policy Committee.
Review implementation of the Project West Wind noise management plan.
Work with Meridian to facilitate the establishment of a suitable mechanism for the wellbeing and enhancement of the communities adjoining the site – including Makara, South Makara, Makara Beach and Takarau Gorge.