Comment on the Southern Link Inland Port application
Port Otago, Dunedin. Image source: Tom Ackroyd, Wikimedia Commons
The Commissioner was invited by the Fast-track Approvals Expert Panel to comment on the Southern Link Inland Port application. The project would establish a logistics hub that will service Port Otago from a site near Mosgiel.
The Commissioner’s comments draw from his review of the Land Use Capability (LUC) system, as the project site is currently classified as LUC 1 highly-productive land (HPL). Development on this land would constitute a permanent loss of its productive characteristics, however, it is not known if the entire site is truly highly-productive without up-to-date, detailed, high-resolution and high-quality property-scale mapping.
It is the Commissioner’s view that the key issues the panel will need to determine for this project are the effects of the loss of HPL and whether the land qualifies for the exemption criteria set out in the National Policy Statement for HPL.
“Flood hazards […] ecological effects and other areas of concern can likely be appropriately addressed by conditions. The loss of highly productive land cannot be, and the panel must be satisfied that the benefits are proportionate to this permanent cost.”