Media advisory for Pūhoi to Warkworth proposal
25 July 2014
The Ara Tūhono – Pūhoi to Wellsford Road of National Significance: Pūhoi to Warkworth section Board of Inquiry has
released its draft report and decision.
The Board has confirmed two notices of requirement and granted the 15 resource consents sought by the NZ Transport
Agency, subject to the imposition of conditions.
The draft report and decision is available on the EPA website here: http://www.epa.govt.nz/Resource-management/Puhoi/Pages/default.aspx.
The applicant and other parties now have 20 working days to make comments on minor or technical aspects of the report.
The Board will provide its final decision to the EPA by 4 September 2014.
ENDS
Background
This proposal was directed by the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Conservation to an independent Board
of Inquiry in October 2013.
The Pūhoi to Warkworth Board of Inquiry is chaired by the retired High Court Judge, the Honourable John Priestley CNZM,
QC. The other four members of the Board are Michael Parsonson, Alan Withy, Bronwyn Hunt and David Chandler.
The proposal was notified in November 2013 and a total of 187 submissions were received.
A public hearing was held between 7 April and 5 June 2014 at locations in both Silverdale and Warkworth.
The Board of Inquiry is independent of the EPA and of Ministers. All decisions and reports are made and written by the
Board and can be appealed to the High Court on points of law only and cannot be overturned by Ministers.
Comments to the EPA need to be received in writing by 5pm on 22 August 2014. Comments can only relate to:
• minor errors in the report; and/or
• the wording of conditions specified in the report; and/or
• any omissions in the report (for example, if the report does not address a certain issue that was brought up
through submissions or at the hearing).
The applicant and other parties may not comment on the Board of Inquiry’s decision or its reasons for that decision.
The Board of Inquiry will consider any comments received and may make amendments to the draft report accordingly. At the
conclusion of reviewing the comments, the Board of Inquiry will make its final decision and produce a final written
report.
You can read more about this proposal and the process followed on the EPA website here: