PROPOSED ALTERATION to DESIGNATION for WAIKERIA PRISON Planning Report Under Section 198D of the Resource Management Act 1991 Da

Waikeria Prison Alteration to Designation - Section 198D Planning Report June 2017 PROPOSED ALTERATION TO DESIGNATION FOR WAIKERIA PRISON Planning Report under section 198D of the Resource Management Act 1991 Date: 30 June 2017 Ref: 144680 Page 1 Waikeria Prison Alteration to Designation - Section 198D Planning Report June 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 The Notice of Requirement 2.2 Purpose of this Report 2.3 The Review Process 3.0 BACKGROUND 4.0 SITE AND SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT 4.1 Location of designation 4.2 Surrounding environment 5.0 THE PROPOSAL 5.1 Alteration to Designation 5.2 Development Model 5.3 Site Layout and Design 5.4 Construction 5.5 Other consents required 6.0 RELEVANT RMA PROVISIONS 6.1 Section 198D 6.2 Sections 171 and 181 6.3 Part 2 7.0 EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF ALLOWING THE NOR 7.1 Social effects 7.2 Cultural effects 7.3 Landscape and Visual effects 7.4 Transportation effects 7.5 Lighting effects 7.6 Archaeological effects 7.7 Noise effects 7.8 Ecological effects 7.9 Economic effects 7.10 Construction effects 7.11 Effects conclusion Page 2 Waikeria Prison Alteration to Designation - Section 198D Planning Report June 2017 8.0 SECTION 171 MATTERS 8.1 Consideration of matters 8.2 National Policy Statements 8.3 National Environmental Standards 8.4 Regional Planning 8.5 District Planning 8.6 Adequate consideration of alternatives 8.7 Necessity for the Designation 8.8 Any other matters 9.0 PART 2 RMA MATTERS 10.0 CONSULTATION, NOTIFICATION AND SUBMISSIONS 10.1 Consultation 10.2 Notification and Submissions 11.0 RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS AND REASONS APPENDIX 1: Existing designation conditions APPENDIX 2: Summary of submissions APPENDIX 3: Detailed submissions APPENDIX 4: Schedule of recommended conditions APPENDIX 5: Peer review of Lighting Effects by LDP Consultants Ltd APPENDIX 6: Peer review of Social Impact Assessment by Beca Consultants Ltd APPENDIX 7: Peer review of Traffic Impact Assessment by BBO Ltd APPENDIX 8: Peer review of Landscape & Visual effects by Mansergh Graham Landscape Architects Ltd Page 3 Waikeria Prison Alteration to Designation - Section 198D Planning Report June 2017 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This s198D report has been prepared to assist the Environment Court in understanding all of the factual information and issues that should be taken into account in considering the Notice of Requirement lodged by the Department of Corrections for the Waikeria prison expansion. The report assesses the application against the relevant statutory requirements of the RMA and provides a technical review of the effects associated with the project. The report author generally agrees with the conclusions reached in the NOR in relation to cultural, archaeological, noise, ecological, economic and construction effects. A set of draft conditions have been recommended in Appendix 4 to address the effects arising from these issues. Based on the report of the Social Impact reviewer (Ms Linzey), I consider that the Social Effects arising from the project have been appropriately identified. An amendment to the Community Liaison Group (CLG) condition has been recommended to respond to the additional social effects anticipated by the applicant’s consultant. This amended condition will ensure that the membership and remit of the CLG are expanded over the construction period and for a period of up to 5 years post commencement of operation. Provided that the CLG condition is expanded in the manner set out in the draft conditions in Appendix 4, I am satisfied the social effects identified will be appropriately managed. A set of additional conditions have been recommended in relation to the lighting effects of the project to ensure that the appropriate lighting standards are applied and achieved in the design of the expanded facility. This also responds to the lack of design detail currently in the application and ensures that sufficient detail is provided at the important final detailed design stage of the project. The landscape peer reviewer has expressed concern over the lack of design information associated with the application and notes that this means he cannot reach the same firm conclusion in relation to landscape and visual effects as the applicant’s landscape consultant. In my opinion and based on Mr Mansergh’s review; I consider that the expanded prison facility will alter the characteristics of the rural landscape, and that mitigation will be required to ensure an adequate level of integration. Although I am satisfied that mitigation is feasible in principle, its effectiveness cannot be assured until such times as the finalised design of the new facility is known. I have recommended changes to the LVMMP condition in Appendix 4 that will ensure that sufficient design information is available at the time the LVMMP is submitted so that the level of mitigation can be assessed against the finalised project design rather than the worst-case scenario set out in the NOR application. The applicant has proposed a series of localised roading upgrade works on Waikeria Road to bring the road up to the required standard for both the construction and operational phases of the project. The upgrades to the existing Waikeria Stream bridge and Waikeria Road itself have been reviewed and considered generally appropriate. However, in relation to timing, I concur with Mr Inder that the required upgrades to Waikeria Road should occur Page 4 Waikeria Prison Alteration to Designation - Section 198D Planning Report June 2017 prior to the commencement of construction. A set of draft conditions have been recommended to ensure that this occurs. I share Mr Inder’s concern that capacity and safety issues have not yet been adequately addressed for right turning vehicles onto SH3. As at the date of completing this report a final agreed upgrade solution for this intersection had not been developed. Although I anticipate that there is an appropriate solution to this issue, I remain concerned that this effect arising from the expansion of the prison facility remains unaddressed. While it is expected that the parties to this application will progress this matter over the coming months ahead of the hearing of this matter, I have included a set of conditions in Appendix 4 that provide a framework for both assessing and implementing the final intersection upgrade solution when it is developed. 2 INTRODUCTION 2.1 The Notice of Requirement The Minister of Corrections has given notice of a requirement (NoR) for an alteration to Designation D55 (Waikeria Prison) in the Otorohanga District Plan. The NoR is given to Otorohonga District Council (ODC) pursuant to section 181 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The existing designation conditions relating to Waikeria Prison are to be modified, as required, in order to allow for the construction, operation and maintenance of prison facilities and associated infrastructure to accommodate up to 3,000 prisons at Waikeria Prison. The NoR will enable an increase in prisoner capacity from the current limit of 1,250 prisoners to 3,000 prisoners. The spatial extent of the existing designation is not being altered. 2.2 Purpose of This Report The purpose of this report is to bring to the attention of the Environment Court all the relevant factual information and issues which should be considered in formulating a decision on the NoR. The report has been prepared pursuant to section 198D of the RMA on behalf of Otorohonga DC. Where appropriate, the report does not repeat material from the NoR documentation and it relies on the information provided in the AEE and supporting documents. Where this approach is adopted specific mention is provided. The report also provides an assessment of the NoR in accordance with the relevant matters specified in the RMA. Any conclusions reached or recommendations made in this report are not binding on the Environment Court and it should not be assumed that the Court will reach the same conclusions having considered all of the evidence relating to the NoR. Page 5 Waikeria Prison Alteration to Designation - Section 198D Planning Report June 2017 3 BACKGROUND 3.1 Waikeria Prison Waikeria Prison is located at the southern end of Waikeria Road, 16km south of Te Awamutu, in the Waikato. The 1,276ha site is owned by the Crown and is gazetted by Her Majesty for prison purposes. The Minister of Corrections is the requiring authority for the entire site. The land on which the prison is located was taken for public works in the early 20th century, and Waikeria Prison was established in 1911. The current facility provides for approximately 650 prisoners in minimum to high security units although the prison routinely accommodated 800 to 1,000 prisoners from 2007-2012 prior to the closure of some secure units that were at the end of their useful life. The existing Waikeria facility is designated in the Otorohanga District Plan as D55, the stated purpose of which is ‘operation of prison and associated activities - subject to conditions’. The existing facility is one of New Zealand’s largest prisons in terms of land area. In 2016, the Department of Corrections (the Department) developed a Prison Capacity Programme in response to a rising prisoner population and projected future growth. Using the Justice Sector Forecast, the Department predicted that 1,700 additional prisoner places would be required by 2025. The Department established a programme that would meet the predicted capacity shortfall by providing an additional 80 prisoner places at Northland Region Corrections Facility by April 2017, 245 prisoner places at Mt Eden Corrections Facility by late 2019, and 1,500 prisoner places through the construction of a new facility at Waikeria Prison by 2021. In November 2016, the Government approved the procurement of a 1,500 prisoner facility at Waikeria Prison.

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