Batlow couple survived fires only to go into power line hell

And that's saying something.

Last year, she, her husband Paul, their son and a friend fought for over an hour and half to save their sheds, cattle and and farm as the mammoth Dunns Road blaze set down on the Batlow area, devastating much of the district, killing one man who died while trying to save a mate's place.

The town is still getting back on its feet.

But its seems very few are now running to save Batlow from the massive 500kv Snowy 2.0 power lines that are set to head through farmland in the next few years.

The battle to stave off the large transmission line known as HumeLink, has led to court action after the refusal by local landholders to let the builder TransGrid from entering properties to complete environmental impact assessments.

Andrea Sturgess's family have run Valley Views for two generations and they have been distilling eucalyptus oil for nearly 60 years and still run the family business now as YesterYear Plantations. They lost all their eucalyptus sources on the farm in the fires and now source leaves from elsewhere.

Tourists still come to buy the products - made from their pure oil including cleaning products, soaps, shampoos and body washes, and gift packs - but their plans to put in farmstay cabins to look over the views is now in jeopardy.

The Sturgess' face a third transmission line through their property, where they also run 80 Angus cattle. "If this goes through we will end up looking like a giant mechano set," Andrea Sturgess says.

"At least with the Dunns Road fire it came and went, we will have this project hanging over us for years," she says. It's affecting her husband Paul's mental health and he has shared a letter about this.

The HumeLink Action Group is due to meet with TransGrid next week about the Gilmore Valley proposal, but many locals are wary after difficult relationships with previous consultations.

Also read: Farm anger as massive power lines head through Snowy farmland

Also read: TransGrid announce 80 properties will no longer be impacted by Humelink

Andrea Sturgess said once she was once told by a consultant that they could go ahead and build their cabins on the planned transmission line easement , then TransGrid would compensate them, and then tear them down. That was a real slap in the face.

The initial easement on Valley Views will be one kilometre wide and then narrow to 80m when the towers are completed, if the project is approved.

The Sturgess's say the compensation they will get is pitiful for the effect on their farm and business. They say the 30-year-old NSW compulsory acquisitions legislation is out-of-date and does not recognise the new dynamic as governments move to renewable energy.

It's been hard to take for Paul Sturgess after going through the fires, although both he and Andrea say emotionally they have moved on from that time, but it's the power lines that now dog their lives.

"On our property I live with two TransGrid 330kv power lines one to Wagga and one to Yass and everyday I Iook at them, I hear them, I work under them. They are in my face, a fact of life," he wrote.

"They were imposed on my family with very little compensation.

"After the Dunns Road fire that hit us on the January 4, 2020, which my wife, our son, a friend and myself stayed and fought hard for to save our home, our work shed, eucalyptus oil distillery and 80 odd head of cattle on that day.

"I lost 99 per cent of my property to the fire and then along came TransGrid with their Humelink Project. There has not been many full nights' sleep waking with a thought of 'someone else to talk to' or somehow I can make this nightmare go away."

TransGrid said it was committed to "listening and working respectfully, effectively and transparently with communities."

The Land asked TransGrid for a larger comment.

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