Northern Corridor Improvements Application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)

This application to the EPA preceded a Board of Inquiry (BOI) public hearing held in mid-2017, and sought a decision for new or amended land designation rights and resource consents through the Northern Corridor Improvements area. Following the hearing, the BOI announced its approvals on 22 November 2017.

As a result, the project has now moved into detailed design, property acquisition and construction.

About this process

The resource consent application forms and Notices of Requirement (NoR) contained on this website form a lodgement application by the NZ Transport Agency in December 2016 to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), asking for planning permissions for the Northern Corridor Improvements project to be considered by an Independent Board of Inquiry.

The applications were lodged with the EPA because the Northern Corridor Improvements project will complete the Western Ring Route, one of the government’s Roads of National Significance:

• The NoR notices on this website state what land is required to build the new motorway connection, Northern Busway extension, upgraded State Highway 18 and associated local road, walking and cycling upgrades.
• The resource consent application forms and supporting assessment of environmental effects describe the project’s possible effects on the environment and community and the ways these may be avoided, remedied or mitigated.
• These forms and the AEE are supported by the in-depth technical and assessment reports and the drawings/plan set. The drawings are not created as stand-alone documents and show concepts only. They should be read in conjunction with the associated technical assessment report(s).
• A non-technical guide [PDF, 1.4 MB] to help you read this documentation.

On the 22 February 2017 the EPA announced a four week public submission process, which closed on 22 March 2017. 33 submissions were received by the EPA during this process.

A BOI public hearing including the presentation of evidence and deliberations was  then held in mid-2017.

The EPA has created a new section on its website(external link) to host all of the submitter's evidence, the Transport Agency's evidence, BOI updates and explanations of the hearing procedures.

On 22 November 2017, the BOI announced it had granted approval for all the resource consents and designations for the project. The final decision and related construction conditions are also available on the EPA website section listed above.