Today it is a demanding hike of around six hours if you want to go up to Rossnos. The craggy mountain is the highest point visible from the center of Odda: 1,407 meters above sea level, right on the edge of Hardangervidda. Now there are plans to build Norway’s highest gondola up there: a commuter rail that starts down in the city centre, on top of the old building “Skalltaket” at the decommissioned Odda smelter. The gondola ride will take 6.3 minutes. But the plans are, to say the least, controversial in the local community and divide the city. Those who want development believe the gondola will lead to growth in the population and jobs, in addition to positive effects in the city centre. Those who are against fear the project could be expensive, both for nature and the wild reindeer, the municipal coffers and other tourism investments. Villrein A majority of the county committee agreed in October to recommend the construction of the gondola. But now the State Administrator has put forward objections to the planning proposal. First and foremost because Rossnos lies just inside the Hardangervidda wild reindeer area. Rossnos is visible from the center of Odda and marks the western extreme point of the Hardangervidda wild reindeer area. Photo: Tale Hauso / news “Hardanger Lift set national interests linked to the wild reindeer’s area needs and the ecological functional requirements of the habitat for the wild reindeer as a species of national responsibility, essentially aside.” That’s what the State Administrator writes, adding that “the planning proposal will also have negative consequences for other natural diversity and environmental values linked to landscapes of national interest.” Municipal director Nils Erling Yndesdal at the State Administrator points out that the wild reindeer tribe on Hardangervidda has been given the status of near-threatened on the red list of species. – The main problem is the point on Rossnos where the gondola will go. We see that the municipality has tried to reduce the disadvantages, but we do not see current solutions that reduce the disadvantages so much that it becomes acceptable to use this peak. Disappointed mayor Mayor Roald Aga Haug (Ap) in Ullensvang municipality is disappointed, but not surprised by the rebuttal. – I have registered it. But I think this track can be easily established without being a threat to the wild reindeer tribe. He points out that limits should be set for the amount of traffic and care should be taken for wild reindeer. – We recently had a good dialogue meeting with the State Administrator, where we thought we had the most important arguments clear, says Mayor Roald Aga Haug. Photo: Tale Hauso / news The municipality will now request mediation with the State Administrator. The matter can either be resolved by the municipality adapting the plan, or by them arriving at a solution jointly. If Ullensvang does not reach an agreement with the State Administrator, the matter goes on to the political leadership in the Ministry of Local Government. Debated The municipality in Hardanger is far from alone in wanting a skylift. All over the country, plans are now being made to build railways that will transport up to 100,000 tourists to the mountains each year. In Loen, the new skylift has become a major attraction there within a few years. But both from the general public and from those who are concerned with nature and the environment, there are many protests to the new projects. The debate is also raging about the gondola plans in the Kjøsnesfjord in Jølster. At Voss, there was an uproar when the new gondola was laid directly over rooftops. Several homeowners received compensation. In Odda, the gondola is planned with a theoretical transport capacity of 460 people per hour. The state administrator is skeptical: “Facilitating public transport of this format into a national reindeer area will blow up the framework for a long-term and sound management of a national reindeer area. It will be particularly fraught with conflict to facilitate tourism and commercial activities within the national reindeer area.’ The state administrator also rejects Ullensvang municipality’s understanding of the boundaries of the national wild reindeer area: “We cannot see that what has been submitted is in accordance with what is stated in the adopted regional plan. We are therefore basing our assessment on the delimitation set out in the regional plan for Hardangervidda 2019–2035”, states the Statsforvaltaren.
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The state administrator says no to the controversial gondola – news Vestland
