The Star: July 11, 2024
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> Thursday <strong>July</strong> <strong>11</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
4<br />
NEWS<br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
Clarity sought over rocket facility<br />
• From page 1<br />
Dixon would not say what that<br />
opposition would be. Residents<br />
are talking to “sources” to<br />
determine what they should<br />
do next. <strong>The</strong>y have not decided<br />
whether they will publicly oppose<br />
any vertical rocket launches,<br />
hoping to engage with the<br />
Tāwhaki Joint Venture first.<br />
“We’re going on a fact finding<br />
mission to see what people know.”<br />
said Dixon.<br />
Tāwhaki chief executive<br />
Linda Falwasser did not answer<br />
questions from <strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> asking<br />
whether Tāwhaki had informed<br />
nearby residents about possible<br />
vertical launches and what consultation<br />
might take place in the<br />
future.<br />
In an emailed statement<br />
she said: “Tāwhaki National<br />
Aerospace Centre at Kaitorete is<br />
a multi-use facility and we are<br />
taking a phased and considered<br />
approach to its development in<br />
line with demand, and so the<br />
land flourishes for generations to<br />
come.<br />
“Our focus to date has been<br />
supporting the aerospace sector<br />
in Aotearoa and scaling up the<br />
site accordingly, alongside environmental<br />
rejuvenation work and<br />
planning.<br />
“We recently completed the<br />
construction of a sealed runway<br />
that enables horizontal space<br />
SPACE SPOT: Kaitorete Spit is currently home to a small runway and hangar.<br />
PHOTO: TĀWHAKI NATIONAL AEROSPACE CENTRE<br />
launch and a hangar build is<br />
underway.<br />
“We’ve also been talking to<br />
international companies to<br />
understand sector demand and<br />
potential infrastructure requirements<br />
for vertical launch,’’ the<br />
statement said.<br />
Tāwhaki said the potential for<br />
vertical launch had been public<br />
record since the joint venture was<br />
established.<br />
But residents dispute this.<br />
Dixon said Tāwhaki assured<br />
them the aerospace centre would<br />
only be used for horizontal and<br />
drone flights at the meeting in<br />
June 2021.<br />
Dixon says residents believe<br />
they have been “misled”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> joint venture has seen<br />
about $30 million of Government<br />
investment and has the twin<br />
goals of advancing New Zealand’s<br />
aerospace industry and funding<br />
environmental restoration in the<br />
Kaitorete Spit.<br />
<strong>The</strong> aerospace centre opened in<br />
February with a 1km long, 30m<br />
wide runway.<br />
Tāwhaki estimates the aerospace<br />
centre will generate 1300<br />
high-paying jobs and create up to<br />
$2.4 billion in national economic<br />
benefits over 10 years.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Government is expecting<br />
a business case from Tāwhaki<br />
at the end of the year for further<br />
development at the centre.<br />
But New Zealand Space Agency<br />
deputy head Andrew Johnson<br />
said there are currently “no<br />
formal plans in place to construct<br />
launch pads’’.<br />
Environment Canterbury and<br />
the city council have not received<br />
any consent applications for the<br />
construction of launch pads.<br />
ECan consents planning<br />
manager Aurora Grant said the<br />
consents Tāwhaki will need for<br />
vertical rocket launches could be<br />
similar to those approved for a<br />
Rocket Lab complex at Kaitorete<br />
in 2015 which was cancelled after<br />
the company found a better site.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se included consents for<br />
discharging contaminants into<br />
the air, discharging stormwater<br />
relating to new buildings, and a<br />
permit to occupy a coastal marine<br />
area with a rocket launching<br />
complex.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was opposition to the<br />
Rocket Lab plans from Birdlings<br />
Flat residents at the time.<br />
<strong>The</strong> residents have not decided<br />
whether they will publicly oppose<br />
rocket launches, hoping to engage<br />
with the Tāwhaki Joint Venture<br />
first.<br />
An open day for the aerospace<br />
centre which invited nearby<br />
residents was meant to be held on<br />
June 9, but was cancelled due to<br />
bad weather.<br />
Some residents turned up anyway,<br />
unaware of the cancellation.<br />
Tāwhaki staff at the site said they<br />
were unaware of any plans for<br />
vertical rocket launches.<br />
<strong>The</strong> residents want their concerns<br />
answered which include<br />
potential environmental impacts<br />
on the unique ecosystems in Lake<br />
Ellesmere and Kaitorete.<br />
“I don’t know if rockets are<br />
going to be too good for bird life,”<br />
said Dixon.<br />
Falwasser would not comment<br />
on any planning Tāwhaki is<br />
undertaking for environmental<br />
protection.<br />
<strong>The</strong> potential for vertical rocket<br />
launches to affect traffic infrastructure<br />
and freedom of movement<br />
in Birdlings Flat are also<br />
concerns they want addressed.<br />
“If they even consider blocking<br />
off access to the beach, they<br />
have a big fight coming,” said a<br />
resident.<br />
409 Main South Rd, Hornby<br />
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