A new Hope?

Lester Hope, you're my hero.
Actually, I don't know if you are or not, but I'm willing to take a small punt that you know what you're doing.
Great to see the article on you in the Marlborough Express and to see the effort you've put into developing a frost fan blade.
Lester, I'm no expert, but I've had an opportunity to take note of a frost fan blade or two in my time, and I think you're on the right track. From the small picture in the paper, it is obvious that you understand something that some other manufacturers have missed. Aerodynamics matter.
Your design and that of the Frost Boss C-49 display an understanding of the principle that a frost fan blade is designed to operate at a specific speed and the airflow at that speed has specific properties.
This is where the older traditional fans with their essentially flat blades were pretty crude. The Defender with its aerofoil shape recognized that aerodynamics plays a part, but they failed to pick up the importance of the change in velocity along the length of the blade.
You clearly know what you are doing and I applaud you. Well done.
If you haven't done so yet, please get some acoustic testing carried out and if it's worth crowing about, let us know.
Good on you.

Frost Fan Plan Changes Here

As indicated, the MDC released the Decision on the Plan Changes for Frost Fans today.
You can download your own copy from here.
I can see some good and some bad, some stupid and some really good.
The 100m rule is gone and replaced by a 300m or 55dBA Leq rule. At last some common sense after years of suffering over some idiots mistake when drafting a plan rule. However, there's some muddying of the waters with regards what areas have a 300m and which a 500m setback.
No cumulative effects taken into account. There's a lot of talk about why it wasn't included, and I suppose you can see a reasonable view-point there. However, the faith that is required to be put into the hands of the MDC to now make some sort of monitoring effort to consider the cumulative effects would seem a little misplaced.
The penalty for presence of special audible characteristics is reinforced as being in place.
The MDC are told that monitoring the noise from these things isn't really an optional activity. They are really OBLIGED to do it under the RMA.
There's a lot of twoddle in the report about making sure the frost fan blades don't exceed the speed of sound. They even say that Malcolm Maclean has stated that he has measured fans exceeding this speed. Well I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that isn't likely. Not only that, but a quick check over Malcolm's measurements  (published here), indicates that he's measured them exceeding a compliant speed, but not the speed of sound. (You may want to reply to this Malcolm)

However, the Biggie...
If you haven't demonstrated that your fan was compliant under the old rules and gone and gotten a certificate of compliance under section 139, then you might just be stiff out of luck.
To quote the Environment Court;

The onus is clearly on a person who relies on permitted activities status in the Plan to demonstrate that their activity is compliant

If you want to carry out a permitted activity and to subsequently be afforded the protection inherent therin, you need to have demonstrated compliance.
No demo, no permitted activity.
Jeez, that's about as much fun as a Katipo down the Y fronts.
If your resource management consultant looked after you properly, you'll have a certificate of compliance for your fans. If he or she cut corners, you could be made to SHOCK, HORROR, actually abide by a reasonable level of noise from your currently installed fans.
Wouldn't that be a shame.

Frost Fan Plan Change Released

It has come to my attention that the decision of the hearing for the frost fan plan changes has been released this afternoon.

I would expect that if you put in a submission that you can expect something in the mail in a day or two.

I anticipate change that will make inconsiderate operators squeal, and the barn door will be set ajar. The horses are of course long gone...