City backs away from eastern highway

By BERNARD ORSMAN

Auckland City Council says it cannot risk any more ratepayer money on the $3 billion-$4 billion eastern highway project.

Planning director Dr Jill McPherson told the Herald that going to the next stage of notifying the project would make the council liable for property purchases of between $760 million and $970 million.

"We just haven't got that sort of money. If it is ever constructed it will have to be a regional or national project," Dr McPherson said.

The decision is potentially a major blow for the project and Auckland City Mayor John Banks, who has staked his mayoralty on turning the eastern corridor into a motorway by 2010. It comes two weeks after the preferred route was narrowed down to two options.

Mr Banks was yesterday returning from a British Government 10-day study tour and could not be reached for comment.

The decision to end formal involvement in the project follows advice by consultants and lawyers about the cost of continuing to the next stage of notifying the project and seeking resource consents.

An opinion from the council's lawyers, Simpson Grierson, said once the proposal was notified, the notifying body or bodies would be liable for potential property purchases up to $1.2 billion.

Auckland and Manukau councils and the national road building agency, Transit, are committed to the project up to choosing a preferred route.

Dr McPherson said the cost of property purchases within the Auckland City boundaries of the 27km highway was between $760 million and $970 million. The council, which is also looking at making a $400 million bid for waterfront land and other projects, had no money put aside for property purchases, she said. The other property costs are in Manukau.

Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis did not return calls, but environmental management director Leigh Auton said there was a "strong possibility" the council would notify the part of the project within its boundaries.

The council had money set aside in its long-term financial plan to buy properties affected by the highway, he said.

Funding options will be outlined to the councils and Transit next month in a report being prepared by the consulting firm Deloittes. Mr Banks and Sir Barry want a public-private investment partnership drawing heavily on road tolls and congestion charging.

Transit chairman David Stubbs said he would be surprised if a project of this scale would proceed to the designation and resource consent stage without major political input.

"Legally, Transit might have some discretion, but this is on such a scale that there would have to be a much clearer mandate than there is at the moment for Transit's involvement to increase."

The mandate would have to come from the councils and central government, including the Minister of Transport, said Mr Stubbs.

Stop the Eastern Motorway (Stem) lobby group spokesman Richard Lewis said Mr Banks would lose all credibility if the council walked away from the project now.

"Mr Banks has spent millions of dollars putting this grandiose plan together and now he wants to give a hospital pass for somebody else to carry it to the next step," he said.

Auckland City has committed $2.9 million to the latest study to find a preferred route. Manukau's share is $2.3 million.

Dr Bruce Hucker, leader of the City Vision team at Auckland City, said the decision meant Mr Banks could no longer deliver his promise to build the eastern highway.

"This will defer the project significantly because I have no evidence of any signs of strong support coming from the Government."

Dr Hucker said delays notifying the preferred route would leave 1200 affected property owners in the position of seeing their house prices fall and unable to seek compensation.