Boffa Miskell prepared a landscape planning report and provided visual simulations, ecology and cultural strategic advice. Boffa Miskell planners prepared the Assessment of Environmental Effects, working closely with all the technical experts and peer-reviewing all reports.
One of the key matters was the landscape and visual effects of the proposed solar farms. Boffa Miskell’s visualisation specialists prepared simulations to assist in understanding impacts on the surrounding area, including road users of Fairfield Road and residential properties within proximity to the proposed sites. This assisted Boffa Miskell’s landscape planners in recommending mitigation planting, and helped the Council’s processing planners understand how the proposed solar farm development would look with no planting, and how the recommended mitigation planting would look after one year and five years of growth.
Boffa Miskell engaged with Aoraki Environmental Consultancy Limited (AEC), who are mandated to support Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua in its environmental aspirations, to determine how they would like to contribute to the application, discuss the proposal and understand any concerns or potential effects on cultural values. This included a site visit with AEC representatives and resulted in obtaining a letter of approval from AEC prior to lodging the resource applications.
Resource consents were granted from both Ashburton District Council and Environment Canterbury in May 2024.
