Economy
Organ Pipes ‘under threat’
*Pic: Bob Burton
Residents Opposed to the Cable Car are concerned that the threat to the organ pipes has moved closer.
The proponent, Mr Adrian Bold, has applied for the pinnacle zone to be amended to allow a 3-story cable car terminal to be built directly above the organ pipes.
The process to allow these changes is not open to the public and will require no representations from stakeholders.
“This is an appalling situation, where an individual, owning a company (which itself has no intention of building or operating the cable car) can ask for changes that could allow development to occur in one of the most sensitive areas of the mountain” said Mr Ted Cutlan, spokesperson for ROCC.
“The public have been kept in the dark with no details available. If it is at all like the 1994 Skyway proposal, the terminal will be three stories high and supported on massive pylons. The public are not aware of the scale of the structures”, Mr Cutlan said.
“One of the towers for the proposed cable car will be 75 metres tall. That’s higher than the Wrest Point Casino.”
The lack of community involvement and scant detail about the most sensitive parts of this proposal are of great concern. The area above the organ pipes is just about the worst place for any development on the mountain.
“I am sure that when the true scale of the impact on the mountain is realised people will rethink their acceptance of this financially challenged proposal”, Mr Cutlan said.