Reopening the Waiareka branch railway line, a vital component of the proposed $200 million Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd cement plant near Weston, will come under scrutiny at a Waitaki District Council resource consent hearing lasting three days from May 21.
The plant, still subject to a final decision by Holcim, is unlikely to be built if the branch line is not reopened.
The railway line was closed and the track lifted in 1999, but Holcim wants to use it during construction of the cement plant and then to transport bulk cement to Timaru.
To do that, owner OnTrack has asked the council to designate the 6km long, 20m wide branch line corridor in its district plan.
After leaving the main trunk line near Weston, the branch line passes beside houses and through part of Weston.
Some houses have been built since the line closed, some as close as 10m from the line.
Consultant planner Andrew Purves recommends the council go ahead with the designation in a report prepared for independent commissioner Allan Cubitt, appointed by the council to hear the designation request.
Mr Cubitt is not bound by the recommendation.
Mr Cubitt, after considering 218 submissions - 204 opposed to reopening the branch line if the cement plant is built - will make a recommendation to OnTrack, which will make the final decision, which can be appealed to the Environment Court.
The designation request followed a challenge by the Waiareka Valley Preservation Society - which opposes the cement plant - to the Environment Court that the branch line cannot be reopened for Holcim's plant because it is not designated in the Waitaki district plan.
The council and OnTrack said the designation was mistakenly left out of the plan when it was reviewed in the 1990s.
OnTrack had wanted the designation to remain, even though the branch line had closed, in case a cement plant was ever built.
The court ruled in the society's favour, and instructed OnTrack and the council to go through the process to designate the track, which has led to next week's hearing.
Mr Purves concludes in his report the designation "should be able to be confirmed".
"No construction of the cement plant can commence until there is a designation or other legal authority in place (for the branch line)," he wrote.
He suggests seven conditions which, if the branch line reopens, would require OnTrack to install warning lights and barrier arms at the Saleyards Rd, Essex St, Gordon St, Main St and Weston-Ngapara Rd crossings.
Other conditions cover train noise levels and noise monitoring if there is a reasonable request.
While initially Holcim said the branch line was needed during construction of the plant and to transport bulk cement, it has also acknowledged it could be needed to transport coal to the plant in future if the proposed supply from its Ngapara open cast mine ran out.
Holcim, under its resource consent conditions to operate the plant, would use the branch line between 7am and 7pm, excluding Sundays and public holidays.
However, trains could operate between 7pm and 10pm in special circumstances outside Holcim's control, such as a derailment or accident on the branch line or prolonged industrial action at the Timaru port.
