Proposals to build a $200 million cement plant near Weston and a 23-section residential subdivision in Oamaru will come before the Environment Court on April 28 at a pre-hearing conference in Oamaru.
Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd has been granted resource consents by the Waitaki District and Otago Regional Councils for the cement plant, but they have been appealed to the court along with a variation to the Waitaki district plan which sets new height restrictions for the plant.
Five parties will appear over the cement plant, including Holcim itself, which is seeking to correct and clarify some of the conditions in the resource consents.
A new community group, the Friendly Bay Society Inc, is taking the Waitaki District Council to the Environment Court over the Forrester Heights subdivision on Cape Wanbrow, claiming procedures the council followed in granting resource consent for the development were illegal.
The pre-hearing conference, before Judge Jon Jackson at the Oamaru courthouse, has been set down for a day. It is aimed at ensuring proper preparations are made for the hearing of the two proceedings at a date yet to be set.
The conference will consider a number of items, including particular issues in which the parties want to take part, witnesses to be called, and particulars of each case.
It will consider whether there are any legal issues regarding the court's jurisdiction or the standing of parties, whether people or parties with similar interests should have joint representation, access to information, if witness' summonses are required, timetables for information and whether the court needs to call any witnesses.
The conference will also look at suggestions on the time and place of hearings.
The parties involved in the cement plant hearing are the two councils, Holcim, the Waiareka Valley Preservation Society and Kakanui Riverwatch Society.
Two parties are involved in the Forrester Heights proceedings - the council and the society.
