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Route protection designations for the Southern Links transport network in and to the south of Hamilton are about to be publically notified, kick-starting the submission process leading up to a hearing by independent commissioners.

In August 2013 the NZ Transport Agency and Hamilton City Council lodged the route protection applications for the Southern Links network with the relevant Councils (Waipa District, Waikato District and Hamilton City). The route protection applications are called a Notice of Requirement.

At the same time, resource consent applications to Waikato Regional Council for the key new bridges over the Waikato River and Mangakotukutuku Stream on the Southern Links network were also lodged.

The Transport Agency and Hamilton City Council were asked for further information on their Notices of Requirement and this was provided to the relevant Councils in mid-December 2013.

The Councils have advised that the Notices of Requirement and resource consent applications for the Southern Links network and the key bridges will be publicly notified for submissions on Wednesday 29 January 2014.

The submission period will close at 5pm on Friday 28 February 2014.

What happens now?

Affected landowners and occupiers will receive letters from the Councils directly advising them of the submission period. Newspaper notices to appear in the Waikato Times, Hamilton Press, Cambridge Edition and the Te Awamutu Courier will inform the general public about the submission period.

Anyone can make a submission, which must be in writing. Submission forms for the Southern Links project are available on-line at www.waipadc.govt.nz/HamiltonSouthernLinks(external link) (for the Notices of Requirement) or at www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/consent-submission (for the resource consent applications). You can also get a hard copy of a submission form from any of the relevant Councils offices.

After the submission period closes a joint hearing for the Notices of Requirement and resource consent applications will be arranged by the Councils. The Notices of Requirement and resource consent applications will be heard by independent commissioners appointed by the Councils.

We expect the hearing for Southern Links to take place in mid-2014. Anyone who makes a submission and indicates that they want to be heard in support of their submission will be advised of the hearing date, time, and venue.

For more information on the statutory process outlined above, the Ministry for the Environment has a guide to the designation process which can be found at this web page(external link).

Other information and contacts

Consultants have been engaged by the councils who are administering the Resource Management Act process to assist them with the processing of the Hamilton City Council and NZ Transport Agency Notices of Requirement, and the arrangement of the hearing later in the year.

If you have any specific questions about the process, please contact one of the following:

Subject	Contact person	Contact details
Notices of Requirement process	Andrew Cumberpatch - MWH NZ Ltd	07 858 7607 andrew.j.cumberpatch@mwhglobal.com
Resource Consent applications process	Brian Richmond - Waikato Regional Council	0800 800 402 brian.richmond@waikatoregion.govt.nz
Submission lodging or hearing information	Steve Rice - Rice Resources Ltd	0800 800 402 brian.richmond@waikatoregion.govt.nz

If you have any queries about the Southern Links project itself you can continue to contact the Southern Links project team at southern.links@aecom.com or on 0508 7846 5465. All documents relating to the notification are at www.waipadc.govt.nz/HamiltonSouthernLinks(external link)

About Southern Links

The Southern Links project involves around 32km of future transport network, including two new crossings of the Waikato River, 21km of state highway and 11km of urban arterial roads in the Peacocke structure plan area.

It is important to remember that the NZ Transport Agency and Hamilton City Council do not have any funding set aside for design or construction of the Southern Links network in their respective ten year plans. The project is still at a very early stage of development and its progression to construction stage could be 10-15 years away.

Timing for construction will depend on funding availability and priorities, infrastructure servicing for Peacocke, and on the rate of development in the Southern sector area of Hamilton.

Getting the designations in place will protect the Southern Links network so that it can be built when required in the future.

Regards

Grant Eccles
Southern Links Consultation Leader

Southern Links project update, November 2013

Southern Links route protection
In August this year NZ Transport Agency and Hamilton City Council lodged the route protection applications for the Southern Links network with the relevant Councils (Waipa District, Waikato District and Hamilton City).

At the same time, resource consent applications to Waikato Regional Council for the key new bridges on the Southern Links network were also lodged.

NZ Transport Agency and Hamilton City Council were asked for further information on their applications and this will be provided to the relevant Councils early next month.

The Southern Links route protection applications will be publicly notified as soon as practical after the further information has been assessed. Affected landowners and occupiers will be advised of the submission period (including the date on which the submission period closes) by the relevant councils. Newspaper notices will be used to inform the general public.

We expect the hearing for Southern Links to take place in mid-2014.

Other notifications
You may have noticed some recent public notice advertisements for applications for various transportation projects taking place in and around Hamilton.

These include:

Alteration to designation applications from NZ Transport Agency to Hamilton City Council, Waikato District Council and resource consent applications to Waikato Regional Council to allow for the final design of the Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway.
A route protection application lodged from Waikato District Council for their Tamahere east-west link road near Birchwood Lane
Tainui Group Holdings Ltd (TGH) and Chedworth Properties lodged an application with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to change the Operative Hamilton City District Plan to allow for the Ruakura development.

Please note that these applications are not for the Southern Links project.

The map below shows the location of the Waikato Expressway (Hamilton Section) and the Tamahere East-West Link Road compared to the Southern Links project.

Hamilton section map.

Looking forward
The Southern Links project involves around 32km of future transport network, including two new crossings of the Waikato River, 21km of state highway and 11km of urban arterial roads in the city's Peacocke structure plan area.

It is important to remember that NZTA and Council do not have any funding set aside for design or construction of the Southern Links network in their respective ten year plans.

Timing for construction will depend on funding availability and priorities, and on the rate of development in the Peacocke growth area. Getting the designations in place will protect the Southern Links network so that it can be built when required in the future.

More information
If you have any queries with regards to the Southern Links project please go to www.nzta.govt.nz/southern-links or feel free to contact the Southern Links project team on 0508 78465465 or at southern.links@aecom.com.

Earlier designation news

As at May, 2013, both the Hamilton City Council (in December 2012) and the Transport Agency have agreed to proceed with the preparation of the route designation applications for the preferred Southern Links network, specifically:

The Peacocke Arterial Routes (HCC).
Relevant routes outside of the Hamilton City boundary (Transport Agency).

Read the Hamilton City Council 5 September 2013 media release(external link) about their area of the Southern Links Project – the Peacocke arterial routes. You can also view the overall map of the proposed routes [PDF, 583 KB] (PDF, 583KB) and a close up of the HCC's areas in particular.

Both Hamilton City Council and the Transport Agency have now lodged their respective route designation applications ('Notice of Requirement') under the Resource Management Act (RMA) with the relevant councils (Waipa District, Waikato District and Hamilton City). Resource consent applications to Waikato Regional Council for the key new bridges have also been lodged at the same time.

In late December 2012, the Hamilton City Council (HCC) and the New Zealand Transport Agency reviewed all progress to date including feedback from public information days held in 2012.

There are no changes to the preferred route as presented at the May 2012 information days.
The current stages of the Southern Links project are still focused on protecting the preferred route for designation: any progression towards the construction stage is still outside the Transport Agency's and the HCC's 10-year funding plan.
There are a number of further consultation stages to go through yet; and all affected parties will be advised at each stage of the next steps of the project and how they can be involved.

The Peacocke Arterial Routes (HCC).
Relevant routes outside of the Hamilton City boundary (Transport Agency).

Both Hamilton City Council and the Transport Agency have now lodged their respective route designation applications ('Notice of Requirement') under the Resource Management Act (RMA) with the relevant councils (Waipa District, Waikato District and Hamilton City). Resource consent applications to Waikato Regional Council for the key new bridges have also been lodged at the same time.

Now that the Notices of Requirement and the consent applications are lodged, the formal RMA process can begin. That process is administered by the receiving councils (Waipa District, Waikato District and Hamilton City) and it involves three more steps - public notification; a period in which public submissions can be lodged; and a Hearing before commissioners who will be appointed by the receiving councils.

The respective councils are responsible for public notification and the RMA process. Once public notification has been advised, anyone can make a submission on the Notices of Requirement; and on the resource consent applications to Waikato Regional Council regarding the proposed key new bridges within the network. Before the councils publicly notify the Notices of Requirement and the resource consent applications, they will review the documents and decide whether they need to ask Hamilton City Council or the Transport Agency for any further information about the project.

More detailed information on the project is also available in our Questions and Answers document [PDF, 58 KB] (PDF, 51 KB)

If you have any further enquiries about the RMA designation process or how you can make a submission, please contact:

Andrew Cumberpatch at MWH consultants.
Email: andrew.j.cumberpatch@mwhglobal.com
Phone: 07 858 7607

MWH consultants have been engaged by the councils who are administering the RMA process to assist them with the processing of the HCC and Transport Agency Notices of Requirement.

If you have any queries about the Southern Links project you can continue to contact the Southern Links project team at southern.links@aecom.com or on 0508 7846 5465.

More information about the RMA designation process can be found on the Ministry for the Environment's webpage(external link).

Consent information

Pre-construction conditions

NZ Transport Agency Designations

Hearings Report [PDF, 987 KB]

Following the joint hearing on 21 to 25 July, 28, 30, 31 July, 1 August and 1 September 2014, the Hearing Commissioners provided a report on 28 October 2014 which set out their recommendations on the Notices of Requirement from the NZ Transport Agency (the Transport Agency) to designate the sections of the Southern Links road network (the Project) within the Waipa and Waikato Districts and Hamilton City for which it will take responsibility. The recommendations were provided to the Transport Agency on 28 October 2014.

On 8 December 2014, the Transport Agency advised the Councils that it accepts in substantial part the recommendations of the Hearing Commissioners, subject to some amendments to the associated condition sets. These decisions and condition sets are available to view via the links above.

This letter formally informs you, as a submitter and/or directly affected land owner and occupier of the Transport Agency’s decision to confirm the four designations for the Project subject to a range of conditions, and that you may appeal to the Environment Court against the whole or part of the decision.

Please note that the persons able to appeal this decision pursuant to Section 174 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (the RMA) are:

(a) the territorial authoirities; and
(b) any person who made a submission on this Notice of Requirement.

Hamilton City Council Designation (Reference 111)

Pursuant to Section 173 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (the RMA), the Hamilton City Council (as the territorial authority) gives notice that on 28 October 2014 the Hearing Commissioners for the Southern Links Project issued their decision on the Notice of Requirement from Hamilton City Council (as the requiring authority) in respect of the Southern Links road network within Hamilton City for which it will take responsibility. This decision confirms the designation within the Hamilton City District Plan and Hamilton City Proposed District Plan subject to conditions.

The designation (reference 111) is for the construction, operation and maintenance of an urban arterial transport network to, and through, the Peacocke Structure Plan Area in Hamilton South.

In this instance the Hearing Commissioners were appointed to decide this matter on behalf of Hamilton City Council (as the territorial authority) pursuant to section 168A the RMA.

Please note that the persons able to appeal this decision pursuant to Section 174 of the RMA are:

(a) Hamilton City Council (as the territorial authority); and
(b) any person who made a submission on this Notice of Requirement.

Online services

Older media releases

Older project updates

Southern Links project update, July 2015

Southern Links project update, January 2014