Powerlink owns and operates 2.7km of 275kV underground high voltage transmission cables that run between the Bayview Heights and White Rock transition stations in Cairns.
Installed in 1997, the 2.7km of underground cables are critical to maintaining a reliable, secure and safe power supply for residents and businesses in Cairns and the Far North Queensland region.
Powerlink maintains an easement along the length of the underground cables so we can safely operate and maintain the transmission cables.
Since the underground cables were installed, there has been significant development in the Mount Sheridan area, including the residential Forest Gardens Estate. Over time, vegetation has grown around the underground cables and easement.
Essential works to ensure the continued secure supply of power to the Cairns region are required along sections of the underground cable and easement located in Mount Sheridan’s Forest Gardens Estate and include:
We will minimise impacts wherever possible and are committed to keeping residents and the community updated on start and finish dates for all planned works.
Powerlink is committed to restoring the easement while maintaining required safety clearances for the underground cables and easement.
We have been working with Cairns Regional Council to appropriately plan for easement restoration works, including identifying new amenity opportunities for the area such as shade structures and seating.
Along with community feedback, the planning process has considered:
New amenities have been proposed to enhance the walking path for all users and to address shade loss and community feedback, where possible.
We have received feedback regarding the proposed amenities and their locations via:
We thank residents and the local community for their time and for sharing their feedback and insights. The key areas of feedback included:
Overall, the feedback received indicates that new amenities along the walking path and easement will be used and supported by residents and the local community.
Following community feedback, we have been working with Cairns Regional Council to finalise the easement restoration plan by:
We are also investigating options for additional bench seats and shade trees along the easement between:
The new amenities will be installed progressively from 2025 starting in locations that do not require access for the cable joint bay refurbishment works or further tree removal. More information will be provided to residents and the local community before these works start.
Please refer to the below map showing the indicative locations of the key new and upgraded amenities along the walking path and easement, or under Visuals.
The planting of compatible vegetation is underway along the easement and will continue into early 2025.
The planting works are being delivered progressively, starting in the cleared cluster areas.
Some areas need to remain clear to provide access for further tree removal and the cable joint bay refurbishment works scheduled for the 2025 dry season. Plantings in these areas will be undertaken at the start of the 2025 wet season.
Cairns Conservation Services has been engaged to deliver the easement restoration planting works in partnership with Powerlink. The works involve planting approximately 24,000 grasses and plants of local provenance seed and cuttings and approximately 50 shade trees.
The vegetation removal and easement restoration works are being staged over a three-year period between 2024 and 2026.
In mid 2024, trees posing a high risk to the underground cables and located within four key clusters were removed. This approach has removed the need to disturb some areas more than once and has enabled progressive restoration works to start in the cleared areas.
Further tree removal will occur in 2025 to remove the remaining trees posing a future risk to the underground cables and around the cable joint bay locations. Further information about the trees to be removed in 2025 are available on the project website.
These works will be undertaken by local contractors (ETS Infrastructure Management) and an arborist and fauna spotter will again be on-site during the vegetation removal process to minimise any disturbance to the local environment.
In 2026, works will focus on the maintenance of the new compatible vegetation planted along the easement.
Essential cable joint refurbishment works are needed at two joint bay sites located within Powerlink’s easement, adjacent to Alpinia Terrace and Amazon Close in the Forest Gardens Estate.
The refurbishment works on the joint bays will be undertaken during planned network outages in 2025 and will not result in any impacts to electricity supply.
As the joint bays are located underground, the area above (approximately 20m x 12m), will be established as a construction site. This will involve installing temporary fencing, vegetation clearing, installing temporary alternate pedestrian walking paths, excavation of the joint bays and setting up equipment in preparation for the refurbishment works.
The refurbishment works are scheduled for the 2025 dry season and further information will be provided to residents and the local community before these works start.
Residents were encouraged to provide feedback on our engagement activities and the vegetation management works undertaken in mid-2024 via a survey.
The feedback received will be used to help inform planning for the easement restoration works and delivery of future vegetation management activities and joint bay refurbishment works scheduled for 2025.
Through the survey, residents and the local community have shared a preference for us to continue to engage with them through letterbox drops, project newsletters and signage on the easement.
The resident survey closed on Friday 6 December 2024 and we thank the residents who completed a survey and provided their feedback.
Local residents, the wider community and other stakeholders will be kept updated about this project through:
For more information on the Bayview Heights to White Rock Underground Cable project, please contact our project team on 07 4034 7600 or [email protected].
Powerlink undertakes regular inspections of our transmission network to monitor its condition and identify issues such as vegetation that can impact the reliability of power supply.
If not managed appropriately, some vegetation can be a hazard to our network and damage critical infrastructure, affect power supply and impact easement clearance zones.
Inspections of the underground cables, easement and neighbouring Bayview Heights Transition Station have identified significant issues with the surrounding vegetation. This includes species with intrusive root systems encroaching on the underground cables.
It has been determined that selected tree removal and vegetation management is required along the easement to manage existing and future risks to the underground cables and ensure the continued secure supply of power to the Cairns region.
Due to the extent of vegetation along the easement and its social and environmental value, a site-specific clearing approach has been developed for the project. The approach involves keeping as much existing vegetation as possible while managing risks to the underground cables.
We have been consulting with local nurseries in Cairns to seek feedback on compatible species types and understand the variety and availability of stock.
An indicative species list for the easement restoration works is available under the ‘Resources’ tab on this page – Vegetation Management Easement Restoration. This is not a definitive list and is subject to change.
While the species list is still being refined, the species used for the restoration works will be:
Vegetation restoration zones will guide what is planted based on the species type and the zone’s proximity to the underground cables. The zones are measured from the distance of the centre of the two underground cables.
This approach of planting within zones will support a diversity of species while maintaining clearance requirements for the underground cables and easement.
Two of the zones have limitations for vegetation:
In the other vegetation restoration zones, there will be opportunities to diversify the planting with palm lilies, shrubs, palms and trees. The image below shows the restoration zones and indications of compatible species types.
Visuals showing the restoration zones and compatible species types are available under ‘Resources’ – Visuals.