un-confirmedRegional Transport Committee

10 June 2025

Regional Transport Committee Minutes

 

Meeting held in the Council Chamber

36 Water Street, Whangārei

on Tuesday 10 June 2025, commencing at 10:30 am

 

Present:

Chairperson, NRC Councillor Joe Carr

Deputy Chairperson, NRC Councillor John Blackwell

FNDC Councillor Steve McNally (online)

WDC Councillor, Simon Reid (arrived 10.59am)

KDC Councillor, Ash Nayyar

Waka Kotahi Director Regional Relationships, Steve Mutton

KiwiRail Programme Director Northland, Eric Hennephof (arrived 1230pm)

 

In Attendance:

Full Meeting

NRC Group Manager - Community Resilience, Louisa Gritt

NRC Transport Manager, Chris Powell

NRC Secretariat, Haylee Labelle

NRC Regional Transport Coordinator, Kayla Gunson

FNDC Councillor - alternate, Ann Court

KDC Councillor – alternate, Rachel Williams (online)

KDC Acting Roading Manager, Curt Martin

WDC GM Infrastructure, Jim Sephton

WDC Programme Manager - Road Safety Promotion, Nicole Korach

AA Representative, Tracey Rissetto

Northland Road Safety Trust, Ashley Johnson

National Harvest Planning and Engineering Manager at Manulife Forest Management, Geoff Gover

Part Meeting

WDC Councillor – alternate, Phil Halse (arrived 10.59am)

NZ Transport Agency – Principal Investment Advisor, Martin Taylor (online – arrived 11.09am)

WDC Transportation Strategy and Planning Lead - Nick Marshall

 

The Chair declared the meeting open at 10.31am.

Housekeeping (Item 1.0)

Apologies (Item 2.0)

Moved (Carr/ Nayyar)

That the apologies from Councillor Crawford for non-attendance be received. That apologies for lateness for Cr Reid be received. It was observed as we arrived at item 7.3 that Eric Hennephof would be late and it was moved (Carr/Reid) that apologies for lateness be accepted and item deferred.

Carried

Declarations of Conflicts of Interest (Item 3.0)

It was advised that members should make declarations item-by-item as the meeting progressed.

 

Confirmation of Minutes - 1 April 2025 (Item 4.1)

Report from Haylee Labelle, Personal Assistant Community Resilience

Moved (Blackwell/ Carr)

That the minutes of the Regional Transport Committee meeting held on 1 April 2025, be confirmed as a true and correct record and that these be duly authenticated by the Chair.

Carried

 

Receipt of Action Sheet (Item 5.1)

Report from Haylee Labelle, Personal Assistant Community Resilience

Moved (Nayyar/ Carr)

That the action sheet be received.

Carried

Secretarial notes: It was noted that action 5 is completed. The consultant has included the detour routes into the study, this was to be presented at the RTC workshop in the afternoon. Action tracker since updated to reflect this.

Cr Nayyar tabled a letter of appreciation sent from KDC to NZTA for the extension of the bespoke funding assistance rate. This was circulated to RTC members.

 

Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 - National Funding Assistance Uptake Report (Item 6.1)

Report from Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council

Moved (Blackwell/ Carr)

That the report ‘Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 - National Funding Assistance Uptake Report’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council and dated 15 April 2025, be received.

Carried

Secretarial notes:

NZTA has completed their biggest season yet for Northland, successfully delivering the first year of a major road rebuild programme under the 2024-2027 NLTP period.​ Over the season (Sep 2024 – May 2025) NZTA have renewed approx. 204 lane km of state highway – including about 26 lane km rebuilt, 18.52 lane km resurfaced and 159 lane km resealed (including skid resistance improvements

WDC highlighted the progress on transport choices funding, mentioning the opening of the T2 lanes and bus hub on 4th July, which involved good collaboration with NRC. They discussed the emergency works programme, noting that some works would carry over to the next financial year due to the complexity of business cases. Contracts for emergency works were awarded, and expenditures were expected to increase in the coming months. FNDC advised that they would be discussing the progress of emergency works and the potential for carryovers to the next financial year with NZTA.

 

Chair's Report (Item 7.1)

Report from Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council

Moved (Carr/ Blackwell)

That the report ‘Chair's Report’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council and dated 3 June 2025, be received.

Carried

Secretarial notes: Geoff Gover provided an update on the Brynderwyns alternate route development, acknowledging the contributions of various individuals Phil Halse, Ken Rintoul, Craig Greenfield, and Nigel Ross, who provided local knowledge and technical expertise to develop the route alignment proposal.

The team used sophisticated road design software employing AI to explore different route options, which were then refined with input from geologists and WSP designers to avoid unstable areas.

Mentioned the need for financial input to proceed with the project and noted that he was attending a board meeting to determine the budget for the next financial year. The chair thanked Geoff and everyone who contributed to the report ex-gratia for Northland.

Action

1.       (Blackwell/Nayyar) Letter of thanks to be drafted and sent by the Chair to key individuals that contributed to the report

 

Road Controlling Authority Reports (Item 7.2)

Report from Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council

Moved (Blackwell/ Nayyar)

That the report ‘Road Controlling Authority Reports’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council and dated 13 May 2025, be received.

Carried

Secretarial notes: In the absence of a written report, FNDC provided a verbal update on the financial information related to road maintenance and renewals, highlighting the completion of bridge projects, footbridge construction, and the progress on water table cleaning and resurfacing.

 

NZTA Waka Kotahi Update for Te Tai Tokerau (Item 7.3)

Report from Steve Mutton, NZTA - Director Regional Relationships, Te Tai Tokerau me Tāmaki Makaurau

Moved (Mutton/ Carr)

That the report ‘NZTA Waka Kotahi Update for Te Tai Tokerau’ by Steve Mutton, NZTA - Director Regional Relationships, Te Tai Tokerau me Tāmaki Makaurau and dated 15 April 2025, be received.

Carried

Secretarial notes: The current focus is on the Northern Corridor (there are 100 staff working on this project) with the procurement for the PPP for the first section (Warkworth to Te Hana) underway.  EOI phase closed and will shortlist for request for proposal mid this year with the preferred bidder expected to be selected early next year for a late 2026 construction start.

Te Hana to Marsden – The preferred corridor was announced in April. The team are yet to talk with affected landowners. Information days will be held. The investment case is on track to go to the board in September.

Repairs on the Mangamuka Gorge are completed, including slip tidy-up after the April rainfall. The gorge performed well during recent adverse weather.

Loop Road project is on track for completion in the third quarter of 2025, and the programme of speed limit reversals on impacted state highways was nearing completion.

Discussed the safety camera in Kawakawa, it has achieved 94% compliance (now 100km), and the upcoming installation of a point-to-point average speed camera on the Kaitaia-Awaroa Road.

The speed limit increased on the Auckland/Northern gateway to 110km. Speed reversals are nearly completed, due 1 July.

Mobile safety cameras on roadsides have been taken over by NZTA but NZP will continue to issue notices as detected. NZTA took over both fixed and mobile speed cameras.

 

KiwiRail Update (Item 7.4)

Report from Eric Hennephof, KiwiRail - Programme Director Northland

Moved (Carr/ Reid)

That the report ‘KiwiRail Update’ by Eric Hennephof, KiwiRail - Programme Director Northland and dated 15 April 2025, be received.

Carried

Secretarial notes: The reference design for the Marsden Rail link has been substantially completed with the majority of the land purchased. KiwiRail to complete detailed business case which will be presented to Ministers for the next steps and they await the decision on the next steps. To finalise reference design points and undertaking a cultural impact assessment report. Lodging a designation change to WDC this week away from Māori land block and reduce the cut on Mata Hill. Following the meeting NZTA forwarded the contact details for UNISA to NRC Transport Manager and NRC Secretariat.

Action (Reid/Blackwell)

1.       Chair to send a letter to the Kiwi Rail board chair (copy to Minister for Rail, District Councils, UNISA (Upper North Island Strategic Alliance) to acknowledge and support the reference design and support the detailed business case going through. To thank KiwiRail (Eric) for diligence and the significant achievement in completing the reference design

2.       (Carr/Blackwell) Chair to write to Kiwi Rail and Auckland Council on behalf of the RTC to support the development of the Southbound line and its connection to the northern line to ensure that it is included in their RLTP development.

 

Regional Road Safety Report (Item 7.5)

Report from Nicole Cauty, Road Safety Project Manager and Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council

Moved (Carr/ Blackwell)

That the report ‘Regional Road Safety Report’ by, Nicole Cauty, Road Safety Project Manager and Nick Marshall, Transportation Strategy & Planning Lead, dated 28 May 2025, be received.

Carried

Secretarial notes: Highlighted the success of Road Safety Week thanking partners NZTA, St John, New Zealand Police, and others for their support. The week included child restraint checks and media coverage of community road safety heroes.

Discussed statistics on fatal injuries, noting that there were 12 fatalities so far this year compared to 21 at the same time last year. Mentioned the age group most at risk and the role of restraints in preventing fatalities.

Mentioned the ongoing challenges with seatbelt compliance in Northland, noting that research showed generational habits and a lack of engagement with traditional media as contributing factors. Inspector Anne Marie-Fitchett has been replaced by John Fagan as the lead for Road Safety in Northland.

Actions

1.       Road Safety Project Manager to invite John Fagan NZP to a future RTC meeting

2.       Road Safety project Manager to forward contact details for John Fagan to NRC Secretariat to add to future RTC meeting invites

 

Committee Members Priorities and Updates (Item 7.6)

Report from Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council and Kayla Gunson, Regional Transport Coordinator

Moved (Reid/ Blackwell)

1.       That the report ‘Committee Members Priorities and Updates’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council and Kayla Gunson, Regional Transport Coordinator and dated 26 May 2025, be received.

Carried

Secretarial notes: Cr Nayyar discussed the proposed district plan in Kaipara, which would allow for subdivision and development in the area, raising concerns about the need for speed limit reductions on State Highway 14 which is currently 100km. Cr Nayyar expressed concerns about the condition of the bridge strengthening, noting that the work was done to accommodate heavy vehicles for wind farm construction, but the bumps created were dangerous for vehicles entering the town at high speed. NZTA confirmed that bridge strengthening work was being undertaken to enable all heavy vehicles to use to bridge at the required level of service and that this work was not specifically for the wind farm construction traffic.

Discussed the issue of dirt bike riders causing public nuisance and the need for police enforcement to address the problem. Concerns about funding restraints and Police focus on high speed enforcement to address the problem. A meeting with the district commander has been recommended for RTC chair and NZTA to discuss the issue.

General discussion about roundabouts in future planning and needs for additional lanes. Specifically Spring Flat. It is understood that this is a WDC led project. NZTA happy to discuss further offline.

Principal Investment Advisor from NZTA is retiring and was acknowledged by the RTC for his contributions.

WDC has been involved in monthly meetings with KiwiRail. Recognised the importance of the southbound line for connecting to the northbound line. The RTC wish to express support for the Southbound line.

NZTA is aware of the concerns raised about Normandy Street, confirmed that there is no active project here. It is not likely to attract funding under this GPS as it doesn’t qualify.

Action:

1.       (Carr/Nayyar) Chair to send a letter of appreciation to NZTA Principal Investment Advisor (Martin Taylor) for his contributions to Northland.

 

Conclusion

The meeting concluded at 1200.