Titanium Park Precinct North - Masterplan and Private Plan Change

Wrapped around the Hamilton Airport and connecting the Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions, Titanium Park is separated into five business precincts, with the Northern Precinct the largest and final precinct to be developed.

HG services

• Site analysis and feasibility

• Collaborative and iterative masterplan development

• Regional and local council planning assessment and application

• Updates to the council district plan

• Iwi, landowner, government (Waka Kotahi, Hamilton City Council) and special groups (Forest & Bird, Department of Conservation) consultation

Key achievements & innovations

• Best-practice biodiversity outcomes including a purpose-built habitat specifically for the endangered long-tailed bat (pekapeka) who frequently use the area as well as other wildlife

• Developed a 10-year planting plan as pest control to protect the pekapeka

• Masterplanning looked at public transport, walking and cycling routes

• Safe and sustainable road access to the park’s road network

• Stormwater and wastewater solutions

• Key strategic urban growth node allowing for future urban growth around an existing urban area

• Employment opportunities for the region employing over 2,000 people

• Provided access to key transport routes SH 3 and 20

• Following extensive bat monitoring and receiving numerous submissions, the project team worked to substantially strengthen the ecological provisions of PC20. It included proposing more directive provisions; prescriptive rules (lighting), and the planning requirement to provide, enhance and protect proposed Bat Habitat Areas within the PC20 site intended to connect to significant habitat for pekapeka in the wider environment. In short, a new set of provisions was promoted which included the application of a wider landscape lens. A general obligation to ensure no net loss of bat habitat values was also included

• Proactive purchase of an 11-ha property located between the PC20 site and the Waikato River for the specific purpose of biodiversity compensation for pekapeka

• Experts who participated in expert conferencing were unanimous in their support for habitat enhancement of the 11ha site. In an unusual move for a plan change request, the 11-ha property was purchased by the applicants in February 2023, prior to the council-level hearing, to provide certainty as to the outcome to all stakeholders. It exemplified the applicants’ willingness to “walk the talk” with respect to achieving biodiversity outcomes

• Our planning work won the Project Award at the 2024 Resource Management Law Association | Te Kahui Ture Taiao Awards

The masterplan process

TPL commissioned a masterplan in 2019 to guide and inform the development of Precinct North. Its instructions were to design a business park that could accommodate a wide range of uses that were complementary to the Hamilton Airport and made best use of the excellent transport connections that the location of Precinct North provided. There was a desire to achieve a high level of amenity for the people working and visiting Precinct North through open spaces, amenity-based retail and services as well as a higher quality of urban form and architecture.   

The masterplan was developed and refined over the next 18 months based on an integrated design methodology supported by a team of experts including urban designers, landscape architects, planners, civil engineers, traffic engineers, geotechnical engineers, acoustic engineers, ecologists, soil contamination specialists, economists and logistics specialists. It was also heavily influenced by engagement with mana whenua and Waka Kotahi (due to the Northern Precinct being situated between State Highway 3 and State Highway 20).  

Mana whenua engagement was initiated with Waikato Tainui and Ngā Iwi Toopu o Waipa in late 2019, being a collective that included representatives from each of Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Koroki Kahukura and Ngā Uri o Maahanga hapu. Ngā Iwi Toopu o Waipa expressed that mana whenua historical narratives should be reflected through the landscape, with key opportunities to be identified for cultural expression. The concept of recognising and retaining important views of the surrounding maunga of Pirongia, Kakapuku, Te Aroha and Karioi (if sightlines allowed) was supported, and this became one of the main drivers of the masterplan. 

The masterplan process identified the need to establish a strong transport connection with State Highway 3 to the west of Precinct North, which led to the inclusion of a neighbouring 30-ha block that was owned by Rukuhia Properties Limited (RPL). This increased the size of Precinct North to just over 130ha (with TPL owning approximately 100ha and RPL owning the other 30ha).   

The masterplan process identified several opportunities and challenges that would need to be overcome as part of the ensuing private plan change process. The challenges were: 

• How to future-proof and benefit from the proposed Southern Links roading project, which was designated but not funded so its future remained uncertain.   

• How to respond to the emerging knowledge that pekapeka/long-tailed bat habitat extended from the known Southern Hamilton area to include the Northern Precinct site. While the presence of pekapeka/long-tailed bats was a known issue for Southern Hamilton, there remained an overarching strategy gap for managing the effects of urban development.

• How to navigate the lack of wastewater infrastructure at Hamilton Airport in the short and medium term while leaving the option open to connect to the planned Southern Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant that was proposed for southern Hamilton but was only in the business case stage.  

The master plan was then used to form the evidence base for the Structure Plan that would eventually be inserted into the Waipā District Plan. The principles of the Structure Plan were for:  

a)     Primary transport connections and alignments following a clear hierarchy, supported by a cycling network and a future public transport route. 

b)     Commercial amenities, open spaces and retail opportunities to support industrial activity are incorporated and located in convenient places within the development, including a central ‘hub’. 

c)     A design that responds to the pekapeka/long-tailed bat habitat values onsite and in the wider landscape.

d)     A gridded block layout provides efficient and sequenced development that enables a range of lot sizes and activities. 

e)     Character-defining elements such as the airport runway, views to maunga and a hill feature are retained as key features within the layout.  

f)      The amenity values within the development are supported by design guidelines that address aesthetic and functional elements of built form, public space and landscape at a detailed level. 

Changes were identified as being required to the Waipā District Plan to enable the masterplan outcomes to be delivered, including recasting the planning framework to deal with new national policy statement direction; and dealing with key resource management issues that were not as prevalent when the existing provisions were put in place (namely effects on the pekapeka/long-tailed bat); and removing the problematic reliance on the comprehensive development plan process as the principal consenting mechanism. For context, the operative provisions of the Airport Business Zone provided for no ecological considerations or policy outcome/direction when considering a comprehensive development plan process. 

Preparation of the request for Private Plan Change 20 (PC20) to the Waipā District Plan commenced in 2021. The request, which was on behalf of TPL and RPL, was filed with Waipa District Council on 29 April 2022 and sought to: 

• Rezone approximately 89ha of land from Rural to Airport Business Zone (ABZ) resulting in Precinct North increasing from the existing 41ha of ABZ land to approximately 130ha of ABZ land; 

• Amend the ABZ Structure Plan to incorporate the master-planned outcomes for Precinct North; and 

• Apply a consistent (and up-to-date) set of provisions across the full extent of the 130-ha Northern Precinct to enable a coordinated approach to its development. 

Engagement with Mana Whenua, the local community and other stakeholders

Mana Whenua

Involving mana whenua in the project was identified as an important factor from the outset of the Masterplanning phase.

Cultural specialist and advisor, Norm Hill, was engaged as part of the project team to assist with coordinating consultation hui and to collate feedback from mana whenua for the wider project team to consider, including through preparation of a Cultural Impact Assessment. Consultation commenced at the outset of the Masterplanning exercise in 2019 and will remain ongoing through future consenting and development phases.  

In his evidence at the council-level hearing, Mr Hill considered the engagement had led to meaningful consideration of key environmental and cultural values which had been identified by mana whenua. He said that the manner in which consultation was undertaken was within the spirit of goodwill, partnership and understanding. 

The health of ngā taonga taiao (natural resources) in its entirety was identified by mana whenua as paramount, with the protection of pekapeka being highlighted as a critical issue as information about the use of the local landscape by pekapeka was collected. 

Examples of project outcomes that responded to mana whenua feedback include: 

a)     The planting and protection of 15ha of rural land as enhanced habitat for pekapeka and other fauna, including extensive native planting. An estimated 75,000 trees will be planted with mana whenua-owned nurseries to be given the opportunity to tender for supply and planting of native trees. 

b)     A high standard of water quality runoff will be achieved through on-site treatment. 

c)     The Masterplan and Structure Plan align roads and key viewpoints toward maunga in the surrounding landscape. 

d)     Opportunities for mana whenua to contribute cultural design elements that reflect cultural values and context, such as puurakau (narrative and stories), whakairo (carving forms, pou, patterns, kaitiaki/tūpuna representations) and kōwhaiwhai (traditional patterns and motifs). This would build on significant cultural design elements that have been incorporated into recent Hamilton Airport terminal upgrades, which took design inspiration from the pekapeka to reflect its cultural symbolic significance of a gateway between two worlds. 

e)     Commitments to work in partnership with mana whenua on a naming strategy for aspects of Precinct North, including roads and public spaces and potentially buildings and other features. 

f)      Opportunities for participating in the enhancement of the compensation sites and an invitation to nominate trustees for the charitable trust to be settled to manage the compensation sites. 

No submissions were received on PC20 from any mana whenua groups, which is unusual for a plan change of this scale within a sensitive environment. That, and other outcomes described above, are a testament to the relationships that were established between the applicants and mana whenua from the outset of the project and to the applicants' genuine commitment to consider and address feedback from mana whenua. 

Local community and other stakeholders

Consultation with the local community began at the masterplanning stage and continued through the plan change process. Numerous meetings were arranged and held with larger businesses, organisations and landowners in the area surrounding Hamilton Airport. A community information day was also held which gave the opportunity for other residents and businesses to learn about the project and provide their feedback. The community information day followed a letter drop to several hundred nearby properties. 

As well as the local community, several key stakeholders were identified, including Waipā District Council, Waikato Regional Council, Hamilton City Council and Waka Kotahi. Hamilton Airport, and Precinct North, is positioned within Waipā District but very close to the boundary with Hamilton City. With significant residential growth planned in southern Hamilton (especially in Peacocke), there was considerable cross boundary interest in matters such as transport connections, infrastructure, retail provision and ecological mitigation. Waka Kotahi also had a strong interest due to Precinct North being situated between State Highway 3 and 21 and adjacent to the planned highway network that forms part of Southern Links. 

The success of the consultation with the local community and stakeholders was evident in only 26 submissions being received on PC20, with 10 of those in support, support in part or silent as to the ultimate decision sought on PC20.

Following extensive bat monitoring, and the receipt of submissions, the project team worked to substantially strengthen the ecological provisions of PC20. A new set of provisions was promoted which included the application of a wider landscape lens along with ensuring a no net loss of bat habitat values was achieved.

A key innovation was the proactive purchase of an 11-ha property located between the PC20 site and the Waikato River for the specific purpose of biodiversity compensation for pekapeka.

The property had been identified by the project team as being very well suited for creating an enhanced habitat for pekapeka and for providing a connection between the Waikato River and another significant pekapeka habitat in the surrounding environment. Experts who participated in expert conferencing were unanimous in their support for habitat enhancement of the 11ha site. In an unusual move for a plan change request, the 11-ha property was purchased by the applicants in February 2023, before the council hearing, to provide certainty as to the outcome to all stakeholders. 

PC20 was subsequently approved by an Independent Hearing Panel in June 2023 without any changes to the provisions sought by the applicants. That decision was appealed by the Royal Forest and Bird Society of New Zealand due to concerns about the effects on pekapeka. The Director-General of Conservation, Waikato Regional Council and Waikato Regional Airport Limited joined as parties to the appeal.

At mediation, an in-principle agreement was reached amongst the parties that instead of providing for Bat Habitat Areas within the PC20 site, a better and more certain outcome for the local pekapeka population would be the acquisition by the applicants of a second compensation site (with defined and agreed criteria). It was agreed that both compensation sites would be protected, enhanced, and ultimately transferred to a charitable trust to manage the sites for the betterment of the pekapeka. 

In April 2024, an additional 4.1ha property was purchased by the applicants for biodiversity compensation. That site is also located near known existing habitat for pekapeka (including a Significant Natural Area) and has excellent enhancement opportunities. The parties to the appeal agreed that it was an ideal biodiversity compensation site, which – in addition to the 11ha property – provided connectivity to significant habitat within the wider landscape. 

A consent order was confirmed by the Environment Court in May 2024 and PC20 was made operative on 1 July 2024.

The Project is now moving towards the implementation stage, which for the pekapeka involves:

• The planting of over 75,000 locally sourced trees on both compensation sites consisting of over 40 species;

• The creation of a lake on one of the compensation sites to encourage biodiversity including food sources for the pekapeka;

• Registering restrictive covenants on both sites for protection in perpetuity;

• The settling of a charitable trust to manage both sites with invitations to iwi/hapū and Forest and Bird to nominate trustees;

• Pest control on both compensation sites; and

• Payments to fund the on-going administration of the charitable trust.

Renders created by TPL and One to One Hundred.