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The projected expansion of Warkworth will require significant changes to town’s transport corridors. Auckland Council is currently considering eight Notices of Requirement (NoRs) lodged by Supporting Growth, an initiative of Auckland Transport and Waka Kotahi, aimed at protecting the land needed for eight specific transport projects. Together, the eight proposals will affect an estimated 19 full properties and parts of a further 217. Submissions were invited earlier this year, and hearings are scheduled for November.
In this edition, Mahurangi Matters takes a closer look at NoR1 – a public transport hub in north Warkworth and the northern end of an envisaged Western Link road.
Notice of Requirement 1 includes a public transport hub with park-and-ride facilities next to the old SH1, to the north-west of Pak’nSave.
It would ultimately replace the nearby interim Warkworth community transport hub, which Supporting Growth said was not large enough to accommodate the expected future demand. The controversial hub, which opened last year, was built by the Rodney Local Board using the Rodney Targeted Transport Rate and cost $3.7 million.
The new transport hub, which would also feature cycle storage parking, a bus layover area and provide for regional and local bus trips, would be on the corner of the old SH1 and the northern end of a new Western Link.
The Western Link is a proposed future corridor looping north-west from the intersection of McKinney Road and the old SH1, crossing Woodcocks Road at Evelyn Street and Mansel Drive, and then curving north-east and ending where the old SH1 meets the new Te Honohono ki Tai (Matakana link) Road. Its northernmost stretch would run between the transport hub and the Pak’nSave site
The aim of the Western Link is to offer an alternative north-south route to SH1 that will reduce the pressure on the existing SH1/Hill Street intersection, and also provide direct connectivity to Te Honohono ki Tai Road.
Ahead of the November hearings, 10 submissions were received in response to the designation.
Submitters include owners of nearby properties that are affected by the designation, companies with interests in the area, and community support organisations.
Middle Hill Ltd and the Tyne Trust own land that shares a boundary with the NoR1 designation. Their submission supported the designation, but called for “minor flexibility” on the alignment of the Western Link. It also wanted affected parties to be consulted on matters such as landscaping and design.
In her submission, landowner Patricia (Paddy) Sullivan wanted Supporting Growth to first consider the existing Community Transport Hub, which had been funded by ratepayers, for its park and ride.
However, she told Mahurangi Matters that Supporting Growth had rejected this on the grounds that the area was too small and expanding into the Warkworth A&P grounds was not an option.
“There is council-owned land around that site that could have been used and it should have at least been put as an option for people to consider and submit on,” Sullivan said.
“Instead, they narrowed the options down to four and then chose the only site with people living on it.”
27 State Highway 1 has been in Sullivan’s family since 1974.
On the options available, she said the transport hub should be moved to the other side of the planned Western Link, and be located behind the Pak’nSave.
She added that property owners who live on their property should be valued and respected, and given priority information at the inception of planning, not informed once the decision was made.
A joint submission from the Warkworth Area Liaison Group (WALG) and One Mahurangi Business Association also argued that the transport hub was poorly located, and should be moved to behind the Pak’nSave, where it would sit between the supermarket and a planned retail centre to the south.
Roger Williams, of WALG, said the current design would mean a busy road (the incoming Western Link) would run between the transport hub, and the Pak’nSave and retail centre.
The location WALG/One Mahurangi preferred would mean bus passengers would have the shops close at hand, and not have to cross a major road. Also, buses and other traffic could access the transport hub from Hudson Road, which would achieve a much safer circulation, with left turn movements only and no need for pedestrians to cross major roads.
More generally, One Mahurangi and WALG argued that while they supported in principle the need for NoRs for future designations, many of the proposals disregarded the disruption caused by the construction and the consequent loss of service.
They said designations were generous in area, and there might be alternatives that would lessen the impact on affected landowners.
“Wherever possible, the NoR should be reduced to the bare minimum to minimise alienating the land.”
Noting that the designated land may not be needed for decades, they said it was intolerable to hold off buying the land indefinitely. Improvements made by landowners should be included in eventual compensation agreements.
In its submission Foodstuffs, which owns Pak’nSave, said both its supermarket and the planned retail centre – for which resource consent has already been obtained, with work due to begin within the next six months – depended on customers being able to access the site in a safe and efficient manner.
Foodstuffs wanted the plan to include full access (left and right turns) between the Western Link and its commercial development. It also wanted the effects of construction to be managed to avoid adverse effects on its business activities.
P2W Services is subcontracted to manage and maintain the new Ara Tuhono Puhoi to Warkworth motorway for the next 25 years. The contract also includes Te Honohono ki Tai Road and roundabout.
P2W said in its submission the proposal would have an impact on its future operations, yet Supporting Growth did not consult with it during the NoR application process. It had concerns about the traffic predictions for the SH1/ Te Honohono ki Tai Road intersection, and said that the NoR as currently proposed would result in adverse traffic effects.
NX2 is the legal owner of land affected by the NoR, due to its lease from Waka Kotahi for the motorway.
Like P2W, it worried that the proposal would lead to unacceptable traffic effects on the environment including delays, poor performance and worsened levels of service.
NX2 said the proposal would not be consistent with the Auckland Unitary Plan, Regional Land Transport Plan and other relevant documents.
Watercare said in its submission that it was neutral on all eight NoRs.
A group called the Equal Justice Project also made submissions supporting all eight NoRs, on the basis that they would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by providing improved reliability for public transport and high quality walking and cycling facilities.
