A hearing concerning appeals to the Environment Court over consents granted to Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd to build a cement plant near Weston has been adjourned until the designation of the railway line between Waiareka and the proposed plant is resolved.
Holcim was granted resource consents by the Waitaki District and Otago Regional Councils for the $200 million plant but they were appealed to the Environment Court, along with a variation to the Waitaki district plan which sets new height restrictions for the plant.
A pre-hearing conference was held at the Oamaru courthouse yesterday before Judge Jon Jackson.
Holcim counsel Michael Garbutt said the company wanted a hearing as soon as practicable. It recognised the ruling on the designation put a "spanner in the works'' of a timetable but would like to achieve a hearing this year.
More than 200 people or groups have opposed reopening the Waiareka to Weston railway line, a vital component of Holcim's proposal.
A pre-hearing conference was provisionally set down for shortly after October 13, with the court to be kept informed on the progress of the designation.
