Northlanders whose properties are affected by the Northland Expressway are concerned the highway project will churn up prime farmland.
NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has confirmed of the 489 landowners contacted along the preferred route, seven farms in the Waipu area will be affected within the proposed Brynderwyns alternative section.
NZTA says the four-lane highway is expected to significantly reduce road deaths and serious injuries, enable faster travel between Te Hana and Whangārei, improve freight efficiency and enhance resilience to reduce road closures.
Waipu resident Bain McGregor said he had received a letter from NZTA saying it wanted his 32ha dairy farm, which has been in his family for four generations.
McGregor said he wanted further discussions with NZTA because “they’re not having the whole farm”.
“I only want to give the strip they need for the expressway and I want either side of it.
“I don’t want to move.
“Whatever they’re going to try and give us, I’d never buy another place in Waipu – I wouldn’t be able to afford it," McGregor said.
The 68-year-old, whose wife’s ashes are scattered on his land, said the seven farms were prime farmland.
“They’re bloody idiots coming through good fertile dairy land,” he claimed.
“Instead of doing the roading, they should do something about the rail ... or just put an extra couple of lanes on what’s there now.
“Why wreck people’s properties and houses and farmland?”
NZTA said landowners had been contacted across the Northland Corridor about potential property impacts and next steps in the preferred route.
The alignment east of SH1 was chosen after further geotechnical and environmental investigations, with earlier western options ruled out.
This route was considered more direct and offered more predictable ground conditions while addressing ongoing resilience issues on the slip-prone Brynderwyn Hills.
The transport agency this month lodged applications for statutory approvals for the alternative to the Brynderwyn Hills section under the Fast-Track Approvals Act (FTAA).
This confirms property requirements for the 75 landowners in the section, including seven farms that NZTA said will be affected to varying degrees.
Linda Bryham, whose late father and now 90-year-old mother bought their Waipu dairy farm 60 years ago, said their family was in limbo.
Eight family members live in several homes on the land, along with a worker and his family.
The family was “mulling over staying in the same area or moving somewhere else,” she said.
“We can’t make plans because we don’t know if there’s going to be any option of any land left over,” Bryham said.
“If there was one lifestyle block left maybe my sister would move her house ... but we don’t know if there’s any chance of saving one little slither of land.”
Bryham said the family had spent 15 years establishing their homes with orchards and vegetable gardens.
She was particularly sad that a kahikatea forest, where her father’s ashes are scattered, would likely be cut down for two roundabouts.
“We’re self-sufficient, we can basically live without going to the supermarket all the time.
“It would take us 10 years to build up and we’re in our 60s; it’s hard to do it all again at our age.”
An NZTA spokesperson said the Public Works Act governed the process of property acquisition.
NZTA was “not wishing to purchase any property at the moment”, she said.
“This means landowners can continue to use their properties as they do now.
“Once the land requirement is confirmed, and construction funding and timelines are known, we’ll seek to purchase land required closer to construction.”
The spokesperson said NZTA was still working on refining the preferred routes for the Te Hana to south of the Brynderwyn Hills, and Waipu to Whangārei sections.
“We anticipate we will lodge the NoR [notice of requirement] for this section by the end of the year.”
Northland businesses, including the Northland Corporate Group, and district mayors are backing road tolls to help fund the 100km Northland Expressway, which is being built in three stages to better connect Auckland and Whangārei.
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.