Consent applications and NOR to alter the existing State Highway 3 were lodged in December 2017.

Consent hearing over

The hearing on the Mt Messenger Bypass resource consent applications and Notice of Requirement (NOR) wound up in New Plymouth on 24 October, marking a significant point in the project’s consenting journey.

The NZ Transport Agency’s applications and NOR to alter the existing State Highway 3 designation in the New Plymouth District Plan were lodged with the New Plymouth District Council and Taranaki Regional Council last December.

Mt Messenger Alliance Planning and Consents Manager Peter Roan says in the lead up to and through the hearing (August to October 2018) there was extensive engagement between ecologists and planners from the Transport Agency, Department of Conservation and the councils to address key ecological aspects of the project.

“The project deals with significant environmental and cultural values and we’ve known from the start that we’d have to strive to reach a balance that’s extremely robust,” says Peter.

Substantial public engagement has occurred throughout the project phases, including the consent notification period in February 2018.

“There were drop-in sessions, information stalls and presentations to raise awareness about the resource consent applications and to invite the public to make submissions,” he says.

The councils received 1177 submissions with 1154 supportive (98%), 20 opposed and three neutral.

It is expected that Hearing Commissioner Stephen Daysh will issue his decision about consents shortly.

Alliance Design Manager Bruce Symmans (left) and Highways Design Lead Glenn Coppard (right) with a model showing part of the bypass route.

Bypass design on track

Design work is advancing on the Mt Messenger Bypass to produce a consent compliant, well thought out, practical and integrated design.

Some alterations to the design were made in response to submitters’ concerns at the hearing on the resource consent applications.

Mt Messenger Alliance Design Manager Bruce Symmans says the aim is to include the learnings from the project’s design investigations including stakeholder discussions and the route options process, into the bypass design.

“This involves diving into more detail and working closely with all the design disciplines, ecology and landscape experts, stakeholders and the construction team.

The design is being progressively developed in stages, including sequencing for construction,” he says.

Mt Messenger Bypass Project – some key features

Ecologist Dr Brian Lloyd at a bat 'harp trap' located north of New Plymouth.

Investigation to find bat homes

An expert bat team is gathering information about the suitability of the project’s intended pest management area (PMA) as a habitat for long-tailed bats, a critically endangered species.

Mt Messenger Alliance Manager Hugh Milliken says the intended 3,650 hectare PMA is a key part of mitigating and offsetting the ecological effects of the project.

“We’re carrying out intensive work to locate roosts (often cavities in trees) where multiple female bats give birth to and raise their young.

“It’s a challenging task and our experienced bat tracking team is working hard to get the job done,” says Hugh.

The bats are tiny, weighing around 10 grams, and are highly manoeuvrable. They can fly up to 35km in a night and at a speed of 60km per hour.

Monitoring devices are installed to detect any bat activity and approximate locations so that specialised traps can be set up at night. The team attach very small radio trackers on captured bats to track where they fly and roost. By day drone technology is used to zero in on the tagged bats, and trackers with hand held detectors locate them in roost trees.

The bats choose very specific trees to roost in to have their young. They can move roost trees with their young almost every night.

If roosts are identified along the bypass route protocols will be in place to protect bats ahead of any tree felling.

Dr Brett Ogilvie, Mt Messenger Alliance Environmental Manager.

Major action to offset environmental impacts

Expert witnesses from the NZ Transport Agency and the Department of Conservation (DOC) gave their views on the potential ecological effects of the project at the RMA consents hearing.

The Transport Agency and Mt Messenger Alliance actively engaged with DOC, a key stakeholder for the project, for over 18 months leading up to the hearing. This saw significant expansion of the mitigation package proposed by the Transport Agency.

The project team acknowledges the expertise and input DOC have provided during this process.

Alliance Environmental Manager Dr Brett Ogilvie says pest management over a significant area, which includes eradication of possums, rats, stoats, goats and pigs, is a major feature of the package.

“Managing pests is more effective in this situation than directly replacing lost forest, which could take many centuries to grow.

“We can make gains including degraded forests being regenerated quickly and significantly reducing any ongoing pest damage to vegetation,” says Brett.

The unique features of the proposed package include the scale of Pest Management Area (PMA) in perpetuity. The Transport Agency is confident that its intended 3,650ha intensively managed PMA, which is about 100 times the size of the forest area to be cleared for building the bypass, will provide significant and ongoing ecological benefits.

More information

For more information on the Awakino Gorge to Mt Messenger Programme, contact us at SH3@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/a2mm