Transgrid officers have said they will review the route outlined as a study area for the proposed new 330kV powerline planned to link Bonshaw with Lismore as part of $227 million upgrades to the far north electricity network.

Eleven Transgrid staff met with members of the Tenterfield community in private and group meetings in the Memorial Hall on Saturday to discuss details of the proposed new powerline.

A number of Transgrid officers addressed the crowd of nearly 200 people and told the gathering that the study area was not fixed and that it would be modified in the coming month to allow for a number of issues that had appeared in recent weeks.

The officers mentioned a number of times throughout the meeting that they wanted to finalise the route as quickly as possible to ensure that property owners were not left in limbo for any extended period of time.

Dan Paton, Transgrid’s Manager of Projects, said that Transgrid would work together with the Tenterfield community and the Tenterfield Shire Council to find an acceptable route, though the proposed July deadline in finding the route shocked some of the crowd.

The gathering applauded Tenterfield Shire Councillor John Macnish when he questioned if the electricity company was genuine in its commitment to community consultation with such a pressing deadline. Mr Paton reassured the crowd that there was no decision on the route and responded that the timeline was not fixed and that it was designed with the intention of allowing further public consultation.

Mr Paton said Transgrid intended to return to Tenterfield once it decided on an alternative to the current route. He said the company wanted to make sure that anyone affected by the changes who were was previously unaffected by the route would also have time for consultation.

“Hearing the community’s feedback first hand over the weekend proved extremely valuable and has made a significant contribution to the early stages of our ongoing consultation process,” Mr Paton told the Tenterfield Star.