Environment Minister Amy Adams has today announced that an application for the Peka Peka to North Ōtaki Expressway will be decided by an independent Board of Inquiry.
The application by the New Zealand Transport Agency and KiwiRail relates to the construction, operation and maintenance of the Peka Peka to North Ōtaki Expressway and the construction, operation and maintenance of a section of the North Island Main Trunk railway line.
The proposal is part of the Wellington Northern Corridor Road of National Significance.
In accepting the recommendation of the Environmental Protection Authority to refer the proposal to a Board of Inquiry, Ms Adams says the application is nationally significant because of significant use of physical resources and natural resources, the wide public interest in the project, and because it is part of a network which extends to more than one region or district.
“This process will enable affected people to have their say but will deliver a decision within nine months,” Ms Adams says.
The Board of Inquiry will be chaired by retired High Court Judge Sir Hugh Williams. The board members are resource management experts Pamela Peters and Morrie Te Whiti Love, resource management and civil engineering expert Jeffrey Jones and roading expert Mark Apeldoorn.
