Bombshell duly delivered!

We have lived for about 12 years with the thought that a road realignment was due sometime in the future and could come near us.

Well, finally, the moment arrived yesterday when NZTA came and paid us a personal visit!

Excuse me if I ramble, but this is probably going to be a life changing event for us, and possibly the end of our lifestyle as we know it!

Those of you who live anywhere between about Foxton and Wellington will know there have been rumblings about the improvements to the 'Wellington to Levin corridor' for sometime. The initial plans to realign SH 57, which is the Levin bypass route up to Palmerston North and the east coast via the Manawatu Gorge was muted around 1999, and then shelved.

With the increasing congestion as far north from Wellington as Levin, especially at the end of public holidays, there have been more plans in the last couple of years, put out for consultation.
Back in April- May the 4th alternative route was put forward with much hoop-la and public meetings. This plan which would bisect our quiet rural road with a brand new SH57, and would pass about 200mt west of us.

Now 6 or 7 months later that has all changed (partly due to some serious petitioning by some affected folks with expensive houses in a new subdivision) and the route has been moved that 200 metres closer to us!

In fact it cuts our 50 acre property in half from one end to the other, affecting all 4 titles that we own. It leaves a bore and yards with all weather access road on one side, and our house and our barn on the other, not to mention two of the houses we have an easement to supply water to from the bore.
The new road will now pass on the other side of our house, about 50mtres to the east, and cut diagonally across behind us.

The route is their 'current preferred option' so things could still change, but we have probably 5 years to come to terms with the situation, do we sell and move, do we downsize and get as much for the bits they need and sell the whole affected block to NZTA? Lots of options and much is negotiable, and we probably won't want to do as much physical work when we will both be in our seventies by then, so downsizing might be a blessing!

The new road will cut this paddock (our neighbours) in half between our fence and the bush in the right corner.

The thoughts of heavy trucks and traffic trundling so close day and night -and spoiling the idyllic view!) does not thrill us! Just as well we have just had the house retro fitted with double glazing! Might help the noise factor.

The main drawback I can see is that if we stay here and shrink back to our original 13 acres we bought back in 1975, and have lived on since 1978, is that to get to Levi will mean having to turn right on to an increasingly busier SH1, instead of going in the back way as we do now!!!

Attached files

Buncha folks been going thru' the same dramas back down the line in Kapiti, some were outright lied to by NZTA and government types.

Just another lesson that in the eyes of guberment, you are but a slave with no right to private property and they WILL take whatever they want when they want it. [!]

I don't know your area as such Sue, I understand the gist of progress, but how did the new subdivision come about and then be able to change the plan?

perhaps you need to rally a few other locals and engage the same ''expert'' to do the same on your behalf? Perhaps find a rare frog habitat or something? []

In the meanwhile, my other concern for you will be that council will ''zone'' you out ratings wise.

I mean its good that you have 4 titles and if you can ride the wave and want to ride the wave it could be in your financial favour, but it seems to me that pressures are placed on council by others to zone out and overprice existing locals out of new infrastructure areas.. and then you see all these other businesses popping up ''just in time'' for the new roading.

Sorry just my ramblings over the matter.... those are my concerns reading your post. Horrible for you to go through though....

RR, I know of all the dramas going on further south and I am not about to protest or scream and shout in the name of halting progress-Just want to make sure we get our value for what was to be our retirement fund. It is just that when it actually happens, and you can see your land of nearly 40 years ownership, about to be gobbled up by bulldozers, it is a bit disturbing.

The subdivision is at Ohau and is amongst a vineyard which was established about 6 or7 years ago. The road will still pass through, but behind a stand of totara trees so will now be screened from the new houses.

The road has to happen, it may eventually be widened to 4 lanes to become the official bypass, so they will take a reasonably wide chunk of land.
When the official proposed route goes on line, I'll post the google map. At the moment it is just line drawings on
page 5 of this www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/otaki-to-north...roject-update-07.pdf

Sue, that's pretty gutting! I'm looking out my window to the track, which is about that far away, and imagining a huge road. How horrid.

I'd be getting a market valuation as at now and I'd retain as much info as you can gather on recent sales in the surrounding area. It seems to me NZTA are going gangbusters on all this planning/consultation lately given this government's enthusiasm for roads. Point is - the government is going to be over $1b short on the lowest estimate for the asset sales and they are already making the ratings agencies nervous with the borrowings and the missed forecast targets.

My bet is a four lane bypass is unlikely to materialise beyond the squiggles on the map.

Beware Sue, that the "final " plan may not be that final. A couple in paraparaumu, who thought they had a four house buffer between them and the new road, have just found out that NZTA have bought the four houses and plan to use the land where the houses were (NZTA will uplift he houses) to "landscape" the road - meaning their boundary fence marks the edge of the expressway. As you can imagine they are not happy. Also they weren't contacted directly about the changes. So much for public consultation!

The land can be legally confiscated, with no payment to you, if you make it really hard. I'd suggest you find a friendly local Maori with a pet taniwha.....

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Personally I think it is better to be 'affected', than to be right on the edge with no compensation!

Having lived through various plan changes already I am also ready to expect the goal posts to be moved several more times, but in the end, if it has to be, then we will just have to go with the flow and get on with whatever happens. It actually might even be for the better, and we can downsize the farm/herd and get some improvements at the same time- like new fencing and get them to build us a drivable track across the swampy area, because we won't be able to access that end of the farm by road, as we do now, as they are closing the road off at our house with no access on to the SH57. Oh and get them to pay for a new set of yards as we won't be able to access our main yards on the other side of the road-I could do with a fancy new head bail!

Yes, we have been advised of the valuation process and yes we have just spent big bucks on house improvements, so if it turns out to be a goer, we will be getting our own valuation done.

Yes, and put a cattle underpass under the road so you can access the rest of the farm!

Aria;478672 wrote:
My bet is a four lane bypass is unlikely to materialise beyond the squiggles on the map.

That's my feelings to, were will the energy come from to power all this new transport they are planing, the oil pot is likely to be smaller in 5 years and transport can't run on fresh air, or are they thinking technology will have thought up some way of getting blood out of a stone.

In 5 years time we may have brighter minds at play than the present bunch and will be in the age of re-engineering a decent public transport system. and roads will be used for velomobiles "if only"

My bet is a four lane bypass is unlikely to materialise beyond the squiggles on the map.

NO, maybe not for a few years, but that won't stop them buying up the land and making sure there is enough width for them to put one through when needed. That is why some of the earlier routes have been discounted because there was not enough width between various features-like existing houses and areas of native bush, to provide for future widening.

Yes, and put a cattle underpass under the road so you can access the rest of the farm!

I'm not sure I would want to be bothered about having an underpass just to get to the yards and a couple of acres of land! I'd rather have a new set of yards on the side with most grazing area, or sell them the whole blooming lot!

I did make a rather sarcastic comment when they said they were closing our road and we would have to go about a 5km trip, via SH1, to get to the back of the farm, that humans were not as important as cattle and they should provide an under/overpass for us over the new road.

The thing about valuations is that I believe most people wait until NZTA finalise their route plans and then get a market valuation. But sometimes it takes 5+ years before such time as they do finalise those plans and by that stage property values along all possible routes may have decreased in value simply because they are located along a possible future corridor. It only takes one potentially affected property to sell at a much reduced price to bring the whole neighbourhoods valautions down.

Hence NZTA pays less because they have effectively devalued the land simply because of their proposals.

Call me cynical but such long delays in the decision process seems a purposeful strategy on their part. That's why I'd get a market valuation done now .. before properties take that potential dip in value.

Stikkibeek;478714 wrote: Yes, and put a cattle underpass under the road so you can access the rest of the farm!

Yep totally agree. there has been a big push up here with changes to various local laws about moving stock on roads (whether it be just across the road or not or on a dead end road with little traffic) all at the cost to the herd owner. (Nothing is said about horses being on the road, council have even put up horse signs on the roads and so its up to the car driver to share the road then. (double standards eh)).

But my point being with new less rural orientated folk likely to move in, their expectations of what the area does or how it operates will change and you will be expected to accomodate those changes and modify your operations. At your cost.

Sue;478738 wrote:

I'm not sure I would want to be bothered about having an underpass just to get to the yards and a couple of acres of land! I'd rather have a new set of yards on the side with most grazing area, or sell them the whole blooming lot!

I'd still opt for getting them to build you a new set of yards. AND the underpass. You wouldn't for instance be able to get a stock truck through an underpass, but cattle yes!

swaggie;478752 wrote: Yep totally agree. there has been a big push up here with changes to various local laws about moving stock on roads (whether it be just across the road or not or on a dead end road with little traffic) all at the cost to the herd owner. (Nothing is said about horses being on the road, council have even put up horse signs on the roads and so its up to the car driver to share the road then. (double standards eh)).

But my point being with new less rural orientated folk likely to move in, their expectations of what the area does or how it operates will change and you will be expected to accommodate those changes and modify your operations. At your cost.

I think the rationale for keeping cattle off the roads is that the cow manure and urine actually destroy the tar seal, and will speed up the rusting of cars. Horse manure doesn't seem to have the same effect