CONTENT SUPPLIED BY Boffa Miskell
CENTRAL HUTT RIVER
REGENERATION PROJECT A three way project between GWRC, HCC and NZTA
T
he Hutt River (Te Awa Kairangi) is one of the region’s greatest assets and greatest risks. The suburbs that cluster nearby enjoy proximity to its beauty but live under the constant threat of floods that have been a feature of the Hutt Valley’s history. For decades local authorities have invested in flood protection works culminating, in 2001, in the development by Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) and the community of a blueprint and policy guidelines for improving the resilience of the Hutt Valley from flooding, the Hutt River Floodplain Management Plan (HRFMP). Since then the GWRC has progressively followed the strategy, installing flood protection in different reaches of the river, and with it won the confidence of local communities. The final piece of protection works is now taking place to address the narrowest and highest risk section of the river which is a 3km length through the central Lower Hutt section of the river, where some $1 billion of assets are at risk of inundation in a major flood.
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And in a classic case of adding value, the flood protection scheme has been combined into a more compelling proposition designed to drive better flood protection, transport connections and lifestyle. To achieve this GWRC is working with Hutt City Council (HCC) and the New Zealand Transport Agency to develop an integrated plan. Boffa Miskell is playing a key role in making that happen. Since 2013 it has been at the centre of shaping the opportunities and objectives for the integrated project, using its expertise in urban planning and design to integrate the differing aspirations of each agency into a project where the sum is much greater than its parts. The role of GWRC is primarily flood protection and ensuring there is sufficient capacity within the river corridor. This typically involves managing the river channel, the height of stopbanks, and removing obstructions to flow. It was clear that alongside the flood protection work, the river upgrade provides an opportunity for HCC to initiate the revitalisation of the city centre and adjoining river space by giving effect
to its ‘Making Places’ strategy through linking the city centre to the river to create a ‘riverside city’, providing a promenade on top of the stopbank, and a river park. The Transport Agency has interests in the transport connections between the state highway and the city in terms of the Melling intersection with SH2. In 2014 Boffa Miskell helped the project team through a process to consider multiple options for the river corridor. This included many combinations of elements (new/no new bridges, hard and soft engineering, more/less habitat value, new/same connections from city, more/less private development opportunities etc) in concert with different balances of land use policy and physical works. Within this process providing for climate change influences has been a significant issue. Climate change experts together with economists Infometrics helped the team to consider adaptive pathways and how to evaluate their value relative to event probabilities. The process was managed by a working and leadership group of
officers from the three agencies of HCC, GWRC and the Transport Agency. The options were developed under Boffa Miskell’s guidance with inputs from a team of technical experts to cover the combinations of elements that would deliver on the three agencies' objectives. An engagement process was used to get feedback from the community on the options and the levels of protection sought. This was a potentially risky process as the sensitivities of private property impacts, costs and ‘who pays’ for what were constant touch points. However, the feedback was very supportive of the longer range climate change responsive option, despite this being a higher cost option and requiring many private properties to be acquired and removed. The comprehensive layers of benefits was influential in the community’s decision and support to invest not only to get improved flood resilience, but a new ‘gateway’ point to the city, new pedestrian and cycle pathways (including a new bridge), promenade and river park, improved public transport connectivity and park and ride parking.
With a clear mandate from the community to ‘get on with it’, Boffa Miskell has been engaged (along with an expert team) to continue a process of preliminary concept design and planning coordination to provide more definition to the project and its costs and delivery methods. The aim of the process the team is working on is to provide a project design, package of costs and delivery
options for the project so the three agencies can confirm commitments and then expect to proceed with consenting and designation proccesses for the flood protection proposals in 2017. If we continue to build on the success of the team approach, the Hutt Valley will get not only its important flood protection, but also the multiple layers of benefits generated by the three public agencies working together.
AUGUST 2016 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE
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