Holcim blocks community view of cement plant

Today Rodney Jones, Spokesman of the Waiareka Valley Preservation Society commented:

It is time Holcim stopped lying on the ball. In making their application to build a cement plant at Weston, just outside of Oamaru, Holcim said they would make ensure that locals had access to the full application and technical reports, and would be able to ask questions. Yet on the first occasion the Waiareka Valley Preservation Society requested data, Holcim turned us down. This is completely unacceptable, and makes a mockery of Holcim’s commitment to engage with the community.

If you read Holcim’s application it is clear that this plant has an unacceptably adverse visual impact on the Whitstone Bluffs and the surrounding area. Holcim’s experts Boffa Miskel stated in the application that the plant will be visible – in some cases highly visible - across an extensive area to the south and west, and will contrast strongly with the local rural landscape. Under some conditions the plume from the smokestack will climb up to 300 metres high – making the plant very visible from an even wider area.

Reflecting these very real concerns, the Waiareka Valley Preservation Society has engaged Truescape, a leading New Zealand visual reality firm, to provide the public with more accurate representations of how the plant will impact on our local environment. Yet the moment Truescape asked Holcim for the data – which was promised by Holcim executives – their request was rejected. We were told Holcim is now not prepared to release any data.

The message is clear. Holcim does not want the community to have the opportunity to get a true perspective on the size and scope of the plant or of its impact on the bluffs.

Holcim does not want us to know the facts. It is clear that the impact of this cement plant on visual amenity is too significant to be acceptable. Holcim does not want the community to be aware of the true extent of their plant.

When we asked for raw materials to have independently tested, Holcim turned us down. When we asked to fly balloons to show the height of the stack, Holcim turned us down. And now when we asked for the visual data on the plant, Holcim turned us down.

It is time Holcim executives stopped treating us like one of the many developing economies that Holcim invests in, and instead engaged with us as New Zealanders. In New Zealand you cannot lie on the ball and get away with it.

ends

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