Featherston urban and rural residents may notice some smoke in the area on Tuesday 5 May while work to burn off several piles of slash at Hodder Farm goes ahead.

The Council-owned land is located at 174 Murphys Line, with the slash being remnants of pines trees that were previously felled.

Burning these piles will enable fencing to be reinstated in time for the farm to be used for stock from 1 June this year.

Burning has been selected as the quickest and most cost-effective way to deal with slash this time around. Alternative options for dealing with slash, such as chipping, will be considered for future projects.

With plenty of recent rainfall, the piles that need to be burnt sit in the block that is east of Murphy’s Line and stretches from the north to the south of Longwood Road East.

This work is scheduled to take place this week due to stable weather conditions and to minimise any impacts on residents and businesses over the weekend. Extra piles on the farm may also be burnt throughout the week, weather permitting.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Greater Wellington Regional Council have been notified of this work, and the fires will be monitored.

We appreciate your understanding, and apologise for any inconvenience, while this work is happening.