Transpower is working with Kapiti Coast District Council on the removal of trees that impact on the safe operation of Transpower’s two transmission lines that run through Waikanae Park. It is a 4-year project that is getting underway February 2022.
The two transmission lines connecting through Waikanae were built over 60 years ago, and over that time, Transpower and its predecessors have taken a piecemeal approach to the maintenance of vegetation that grows underneath them within the park. This has led to quite unattractive corridors of topped trees – they have never been able to reach their true heights or obtain a pleasing proportional form.
The unusually formed trees have also been a safety issue for arborists, with a ‘flashover’ causing an injury to one of Transpower’s service providers in the last 10 years during regular trimming.
The 4-year agreement will see not just the removal of the offending trees, but also replanting with more suitable varieties of vegetation that do not impact on the transmission lines in their mature state. Transpower is contributing $10,000 per annum over the four years to the KCDC’s replanting programme, as well as being responsible for the removal work.
While it will initially involve some unsightly bare patches to the park, through the progressive planting programme, and the Kapiti Coast’s excellent climate we expect within 10-15 years the new portfolios of vegetation under the trees will be a vast improvement on what is there now.
To know more about what Transpower is removing over the 4 year programme, refer to the document below.
Waikanae Park Vegetation Management Plan [ pdf 497.23 KB ] 
