An agenda item, scheduled for discussion in a Central Otago District Council meeting today, will discuss an "offer for a land access arrangement" but the public are excluded due to "commercial sensitivity", the agenda says.
The council declined to say what the closed-door discussion was about but it is taking place the same month the council said it was working to resolve blocked access to a historic unformed legal road along Shepherds Creek.
The road runs through Ardgour Station which Santana Minerals, which wants to mine the land, has bought from the farmer, subject to Overseas Investment Office consent.
The Shepherds Creek road and the parallel Thomson Gorge Rd on Bendigo Station are both owned by the CODC and both run through the area Santana wishes to dig for gold.
The project comprises four open-cast pits, tailings and a processing plant, as part of its massive Bendigo-Ophir gold mine project.
Former CODC councillor Shirley Calvert said the word "offer" in the agenda item suggested money was involved, whatever was being discussed.
Access issues were not normally heard under closed session. This was not best practice and the CODC should be wary of overplaying the commercial sensitivity card, she said.
Yesterday, Herenga ā Nuku the Outdoor Access Commission shared information about its position on the Shepherds Creek road block with CODC chief executive Peter Kelly and mayor Tamah Alley.
The commission said the district council must "not obstruct public use" of the road and there was a legal process to follow if a road was to be stopped.
A Santana pre-feasibility study on its mine proposal said it intended if it got its mining permit and fast-track approval, to shut permanently Thomson Gorge Rd.
The road runs over the Dunstan Mountains between Bendigo and Omakau and is used for recreational driving, cycling and walking access and also provides easy access by car to the historic Come in Time battery.
Both roads traverse the Dunstan Mountains, an area designated by the CODC as an Outstanding Natural Landscape in its district plan.
Tarras local and co-owner of Māori Point vineyard Marilyn Duxson said the heritage and beauty of the region "should not be sacrificed for a useless mineral" and it was "absolutely essential" that anything about public access in the area staked out by Santana was discussed with "wide consultation".
Central Otago Environmental Society’s secretary Matthew Sole said any discussion that was about access to public land should follow statutory obligations and "be fully transparent and open to the public".
Ms Alley stressed the importance of community consultation regarding all industrial development proposals.
"The real challenge lies in ensuring our people are informed, engaged and empowered to contribute meaningfully to these conversations and decisions.
"Council remains committed to doing our part — with, for, and on behalf of our communities — recognising that these are intergenerational discussions, that not all decisions rest with us, and that we carry a duty to advocate for all our people and the future of this region."
Council chief executive Mr Kelly cited section 48 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 as the reason for excluding the public from today’s discussion.
Part of this section allows councils to withhold information to enable "commercial and industrial negotiations," he said.
