A nominal date next month has been set for the High Court at
Timaru to consider a challenge against the Waitaki District
Council approving resource consents and compliance
certificates for 16 new dairy farms in the Omarama and Ohau
areas.
April 27 has been tentatively set down as first call of an
application to the High Court by the Environmental Defence
Society seeking to overturn the council's decision last year
to approve plans by Five Rivers Ltd, Southdown Holdings Ltd
and Williamson Holdings for the farms which would have up to
17,850 cows.
If the initial hearing goes ahead on that date, the court
will hear from the society, council and other parties about
any directions that need to be made, whether a date needs to
be set for a full hearing and other issues.
The proposed dairy farms have been criticised as factory
farming because the companies plan to house the cows in
cubicles for 24 hours a day from March to October and 12
hours a day from November to February.
The society says resource consents were granted on a
non-notified basis, without any opportunity for public
involvement, despite raising significant public interest
issues.
It is asking the High Court to overturn the decisions,
focusing on whether there had been errors in law in the
council's decision-making process, not the merits of cubicle
housing and animal welfare.
Apart from the Waitaki council consents, the farms'
applications for water are being heard by an Environment
Canterbury panel and those for dairy effluent discharges have
been called in by the Government, to be considered by a board
of inquiry.
- david.bruce@odt.co.nz
Bookmark/Search this post with:
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.