Motorway plan fragments family land

As the NZ Transport Agency reveals more on its planned motorway between Warkworth and Te Hana, which will subsume at least 80 properties, one family has literally been caught in the middle of two motorway projects.

The Puhoi to Warkworth section of the motorway, already under construction, ends near the Civil family farm, just where the proposed new 24km motorway to Te Hana will start.Denise Civil says the family lost one-third of their 90-hectare land, between Kaipara Road and Carran Road, under the Public Works Act for the first motorway. Although less than a hectare is needed this time, she says the impact is greater, as their land will be surrounded by motorway.

“We are at the end and the beginning – we are caught in the middle,” Denise says. After spending seven years attending meetings and hearings for the first motorway, Denise wants to caution landowners to be as involved as possible, regardless of their intentions.

The Civils wanted to keep the land, which had been in the family for five generations. While they live in Auckland, they have a long-term farm manager and planned a retirement home in the future. She says they gave up their idea of a dream home, but during the hearings focused on how the motorway would impact their farm, including access.

She says other landowners not involved in the process from the beginning were not able to negotiate later. It was also not until the hearings years later that she finally met other landowners and created a support group.

Denise says the final compensation was not market value and did not account for the time off work, sleepless nights and stress.“If property owners had been able to collaborate earlier, we could have shared our resources, experiences and probably put up a better fight. Not that we would have necessarily won, but we would have got more out of it.”

She is encouraging landowners on the Warkworth to Te Hana route to get together and support each other.

“It hasn’t been a pleasant experience. A lot of people will be in the same situation we were in seven years ago and have no idea of what’s ahead.”NZTA Northland highway manager Brett Gliddon says it is in the process of identifying and protecting land, mainly in rural production zones, with a small amount of mixed rural near Warkworth.

He says the route will be further defined by feedback received through the consultation process, including meetings with directly-affected landowners, key stakeholders, iwi and as a result of wider public feedback.

“Route protection is not intended to finalise the form or function of the project, but protects the land from any development that could potentially make construction of the project more difficult in the future,” he says.

Mr Gliddon says there will be geotechnical and environmental investigations early this year and the ‘indicative alignment’ will be identified around the middle of the year. This alignment is then taken forward for the consenting stage, under the Resource Management Act.

“Further targeted consultation and public engagement will occur prior to lodging a Notice of Requirement to designate the land and associated consent applications.”

The estimated cost of the motorway is $1.4 to $1.9 billion. Feedback on the first ‘indicative route’ can be provided at www.nzta.govt.nz/warkworth-wellsford by March 31.