The iconic Avenue of Palms – a five-kilometre trail of Canary Island Date Palms along Seppeltsfield Road in the Barossa – will be saved and enhanced.
The Malinauskas Government is stepping in to provide funding to support the undergrounding of power cables currently threatening the future of the tourism drawcard.
SA Power Networks has advised that as they grow, the trees will encroach on overhead cables, meaning that in the future either the cables or the trees will need to be removed.
“While the State Government has considered a range of potential interventions, the most straightforward solution was to refer the matter to the Power Line Environment Committee (PLEC) to consider undergrounding the cables, which under statute would be co-funded by the relevant council,” SA Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said.
“However, despite contributing to design work and ongoing palm maintenance, the Light Regional Council has made clear that it is not in a financial position to significantly contribute to the undergrounding of power lines.
“The normal council cost contribution equates to one third of the total undergrounding costs, which are estimated at a total of up to $7 million.
“Given the Seppeltsfield Palms’ iconic status as a symbol of our state, the Malinauskas Government is stepping in to ensure this matter can be brought to a resolution.
“We are providing $2.3 million in new funding to shift powerlines underground along Seppeltsfield Road to avoid the environmental impact of needing to remove or prune palm trees.
“This represents the council’s share of the full cost of undergrounding the power lines along the Avenue of Palms.
“There is provision under statute for the remaining two thirds to be funded from PLEC’s undergrounding contingency.”
The Canary Island Date Palms were first planted by Seppeltsfield workers during the Great Depression.
Today more than 2000 heritage-listed palms now line the sides of Seppeltsfield Road.
Photo: Seppeltsfield Wines.
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