Tainui follows ‘path to success’ in Ruakura appeal to EPA

Tainui Group Holdings and Hamilton-based Chedworth Properties have become the fourth applicants to invoke "national significance" clauses of the Resource Management Act to speed up progress on a development after their Ruakura project was stalled by the local council.

The commercial arm of Tainui-Waikato and closely held Chedworth this week applied to the Environmental Protection Agency for clearance of the first stage of their $3.3 billion project to turn their Ruakura land holdings into a transport hub, industrial park and housing estate.

The private plan change application is the fourth under the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009, which allows direct applications to the EPA. The body must deem a project of national significance to accept it for review.

The first three were:

• Queenstown Airport Corp's runway expansion.
• New Zealand King Salmon's application to expand marine farming in the Marlborough Sounds.
• NZ Transport Agency's Transmission Gully plan.

All were successful in getting national significance designation from the EPA, allowing their proposals to be referred to a board of inquiry or the Environment Court by the minister for the environment.

Tainui and Chedworth's private plan change had asked Hamilton City Council to remove the "prohibited activity" status on their land, a change expected to come eventually under it's proposed district plan.

But in early April, the council voted to reject the application, with some councillors arguing it allowed them to leapfrog the proposed district plan process. The council also heard from local residents who opposed the development because of concern about noise, pollution and the impact on property values.

"The council's decision to reject that and stop it happening was against the recommendations of its own staff, its legal advice and the council's own RMA adviser," Tainui Group chief executive Mike Pohio told BusinessDesk.

Tainui and Chedworth had some initial exchanges with the EPA to understand its processes, he says. Complementary developments such as the Waikato Expressway and commitment from KiwiRail "absolutely reinforced our view that this is a project of national significance".

Tainui has bumped heads with the council before. Some 10ha out of 30ha of its highly successful shopping complex, the Base, are still awaiting development amid attempts to block the expansion. Opponents have said the Base is destroying Hamilton's CBD and emptying Victoria St and Anglesea St.

Mr Pohio says an ideal outcome would see about five major tenants of Ruakura by 2019, when the expressway is scheduled to be completed. The core of the tenants' business model would include logistics, warehousing and distribution.

"We also want to get the trains to stop and the value that sits inside those containers to be value-added within Ruakura."

(BusinessDesk)