More than 120 landholders and community members “dropped in” to Transmission Company Victoria’s (TCV) community information sessions last week for one-on-one discussions on all aspects of the VNI West project.
Held in Kerang, Charlton and Stawell, the informal five-hour sessions were a direct response to community feedback, with environmental, agricultural and technical specialists available for one-on-one discussions.
Thursday’s event in Stawell marks 30 community information sessions provided across the broader VNI West draft corridor, allowing TCV to answer questions, listen to and hear directly from more than 1,300 community members.
TCV Project Director, Sam Magee, said: “We want to hear from all stakeholders across the draft corridor, to determine the best outcomes for landholders and local communities, as we refine the route for the new transmission line.
“The events were a great opportunity for the project team to listen to the community. We gained valuable insights from landholders, helping us to understand their land and their businesses. Our interactive digital map was a useful tool, where landholders could zoom in on their property and highlight sensitivities and individual details of their land.
“These events are part of our commitment to ongoing consultation, with a longer 5-hour session to make it easier for people to come and talk to us and having a range of specialists available to answer their questions.
“TCV’s April sessions follow recent roundtable meetings with local community groups and landholders in Tragowel and Murrabit, as well as project briefings with the Gannawarra, Northern Grampians, Loddon and Buloke shire councils.
“Feedback from these public forums, online and at TCV’s Kerang regional field office further improve our understanding of each community’s distinct needs, as we look to better the ways we engage with residents across the VNI West draft corridor.
TCV is currently working to narrow the draft corridor for the VNI West project from around 2km down to a preferred easement of about 100m wide in the third quarter of this year.”
Please visit transmissionvictoria.com.au for further information.
Related story: “Farmers grow food – not power lines”
This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 23 April 2024.
