Council opposed to Western Victoria transmission network announcement

Published on 30 June 2021

The proposed corridors for the Western Victoria Transmission Network project have been reduced to one which will have significant impacts on our community.

Mayor, Cr Lesley Hewitt, said that Council had no notice of these changes and it was extremely disappointed in the lack of genuine consultation throughout this project.

“We understand the concerns of the community and appreciate the impact that these potential transmission lines will have on their properties and also their livelihoods. We are furious that these impacts on our community have not been adequately considered,” said Cr Hewitt.

"Council has been an active member of the Technical Reference Group established by AusNet to inform the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) providing as much ground truthing information to help appropriately inform the project within the best of our control.

“We have been advocating strongly on behalf the community and are extremely disappointed that this appears to have had little impact.

"At last night’s meeting, we committed $50,000 in the 2021-22 Budget to fund a formal submission on the EES and continued advocacy on behalf of affected communities.”

“While Council is supportive of renewable energy, it is strongly opposed to the transmission lines being above ground and the potential location of the transmission station, which will impact on valuable agricultural land and significant landscapes” said Cr Hewitt.

For more information on the Council position on this project visit https://www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/western-transmission-lines-project/.

For more specific project information please refer to www.westvictnp.com.au.

Please refer to the interactive link that will allow you a closer view of the alignment on the ground Single transmission corridor | Map Pins Feedback | Western Victoria Transmission Network Project (westvictnp.com.au) .