Doc ID: 20454692
09 August 2024
Tēnā koutou,
RE: Continuation of works past Lake Rotokākahi (Green Lake)
Rotorua Lakes Council’s application to the District Court for an injunction to prevent unlawful
interference and disruption to the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme (Stage 1) was adjourned indefinitely and
an oral decision was delivered by Judge Clark in the Māori Land Court on 17 July 2024.
In his decision, the Judge confirmed and reiterated that Council works on the road corridor are lawful
and can continue and any conduct that obstructs or interferes with the works could lead to an injunction
being granted. The Court’s decision means that legal proceedings can be renewed on an urgent basis if
necessary in the future.
Fulton Hogan is now updating its work plan which includes reassigning machinery to the site and traffic
management planning.
Fulton Hogan will commence operational works on 19 August 2024. From this date, please expect
possible delays of
up to five minutes on Tarawera Road, towards Lake Rotokākahi (Green Lake). Works
in this section will consist of;
• Site enabling works
• Directional drilling of the rising main pipeline
• Installation of the associated assets
• Site reinstatement
To allow effective monitoring of the works and to facilitate a possible reconvening of the Court if
required, site operations will be monitored through CCTV cameras, Security and a regular Police
patrolling.
The Court and the Rotorua Lakes Council acknowledge people's right to peaceful protest, however, the
safety of contractors, the road user safety, the protection of public assets and avoiding contractual
costly delays is paramount.
In the interest of avoiding contractual delays that would add costs to the project, this is also an
important reminder to Tarawera property owners to progress and sign off Locality Plans that are
necessary to obtaining on-property building consents without delay.
Signing of the Locality Plan records the owners’ consent to the installation of necessary sewerage assets
on the property, to record the location for future maintenance and replacement, for any Heritage NZ
investigations necessary, and acknowledges there could be some minor location changes if required by
the owner. The installation of the assets and connection to the house plumbing requires building
consent. Signed owner permission on the Locality Plan is a necessary part of the building consent
application process.
Signing the locality plan does not imply a person's agreement (or non-agreement) with the funding
principles of the scheme, nor to any commitment to the payment of targeted capital or operational
rates for the scheme. These are matters that Council will consider at the time of setting the targeted
Document Set ID: 20454692
Version: 2, Version Date: 08/08/2024
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rate. The requirement to connect to the scheme and to pay eventually the set rates already exist in
legislation and as a result of the decision-making processes followed by Council pursuant to that.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Stavros Michael
Group Manager – Infrastructure & Environment
Document Set ID: 20454692
Version: 2, Version Date: 08/08/2024
