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IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 AND IN THE MATTER of an application by SkyPlay Adventures Limited and Tauhara North 2 Trust (applicants) and Taupō District Council (Consent Authority) in relation to an application for Land Use Consent RM190270 ________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE OF MICHAEL ROWAN SAPSFORD ON BEHALF OF SKYPLAY ADVENTURES LTD AND TAUHARA NORTH NO.2 TRUST 15 September 2020 __________________________________________________________________ 2 INTRODUCTION Qualifications and experience 1. I am the Director of Roam Consulting and am a full member of the New Zealand Planning Institute. I have a Bachelor of Resource and Environmental Planning and a postgraduate Diploma in Rural Studies from Massey University. 2. I have worked as a planner for more than twenty years undertaking a variety of resource consent and policy projects including urban, rural, commercial and industrial planning projects for Central Government, iwi, businesses, community groups and New Zealand and London Councils. 3. In addition to this I have worked on numerous strategic planning processes relating to conservation, recreation, tourism and community based projects. 4. Previous roles of relevance include Team Leader of the Taupō District Council Environmental Policy unit and a Strategic Project Manager and Senior Partnership Ranger for the Department of Conservation based in Taupō and Turangi. Involvement in project 5. I have been involved in this project since March 2015 and have been providing advice to the applicants on the following matters: • Permissions under the Resource Management Act 1991 (the Act) and the Conservation Act 1987 • Iwi and stakeholder engagement • Technical assessments and associated matters of due diligence 6. In 2019 I prepared the resource consent and concession application report for the proposal. I have also drafted responses to three further information requests on the resource consent application. 7. I attended the pre-hearing meeting on 21 July 2020 in Taupō. Purpose and scope of evidence 8. This evidence will: • Outline key elements of this proposal • Assess the environmental effects • Discuss the submissions • Discuss Council’s evidence. 9. For brevity, I have endeavoured to avoid repeating information in my evidence that is already included in the submitted application material and Council’s 42A Report. Statement of Evidence, Rowan Sapsford| Council Reference: RM190270 3 Documents and Materials Referenced 10. In producing this statement of evidence I have reviewed the following evidence and materials: • Application documents and subsequent S92 responses • All submissions made on the proposal • The evidence for Taupō District Council from Mr Whittaker • The evidence of Mr Bothamley, Mr Shaw, Mr Hogan and Mr Newton 11. Where relevant, I have also referred in this statement to other materials including research and reference materials that I have considered in forming my opinion. 12. In addition, I have prepared this statement based on my knowledge of the Resource Management Act 1991, the Taupō District Plan (the Plan), my knowledge of the locality being a resident of Taupō and the numerous visits I have made to the site since 2015. Expert Witness Code of Conduct 13. I have been provided with a copy of the Code of Conduct for Expert Witnesses contained in the Environment Court’s Practice Note dated 1 December 2014. I have read and agree to comply with that Code. This evidence is within my area of expertise, except where I state that I am relying upon the specified evidence of another person. I have not omitted to consider material facts known to me that might alter or detract from the opinions that I express. Summary of conclusions 14. The Applicants have been working on the proposed Canopy Tour since 2015. They have been engaging with Ngāti Tahu Ngāti Whaoa, Raukawa and Ngāti Tūwharetoa over this time. 15. Over the course of the last five years the Applicants have amended the design of the proposal to take into account feedback received through this engagement. 16. The Applicants have shown that there has been support for this proposal by members of all relevant iwi over this time, however the proposal is not currently supported by Ngāti Tūwharetoa submitters. 17. The application is supported by ecological, landscape and visual, cultural, traffic and noise assessments. These assessments identify that the proposed development will not lead to more than minor effects on the environment. 18. The proposed development is also likely to result in a number of positive effects including creation of jobs, facilitation of a more resilient tourism destination and economic benefits to the district. The ecological assessment and supporting evidence note that the proposal is also likely to result in environmental benefits. 19. There is an outstanding matter of the proximity of the development to the Taupō District Council’s wastewater irrigation field. This affects the access to the site and the use of the proposed Station 1. As the Applicants will require landowner permission to use the Council land for access, any 4 issues will need to be resolved before such access is granted. Granting RMA consent will not lead to the creation of a public health issue. This matter can be suitably addressed through conditions. As is well known, land tenure consent is not a pre-requisite to securing RMA approvals. 20. The effect of the proposed development on cultural values is, in my opinion, the key outstanding matter. 21. In my opinion there appears to be agreement amongst submitters that there is overlapping mana whenua between the iwi over the subject site. This is acknowledged in submissions. 22. I acknowledge that there is a divergence of views between tangata whenua on the impact on cultural values. 23. Mr Bothamley has provided evidence of Ngāti Tūwharetoa hapu’s comfort with the proposal. Letters supporting the advancement of the proposal were provided. 24. It is my opinion that the information provided by the Applicants demonstrates that the proposal is cognisant of the important cultural values in the area. There is also documented support from local hapu that demonstrates a degree of comfort with the proposal. 25. In respect to sites of cultural significance, the Applicants have demonstrated through the cultural assessment that no known sites of significance will be directly affected. Previous developments in this area have proceeded with reliance on the use of discovery protocols. It is my opinion that with the application of a discovery protocol, as outlined in Appendix 7 of Mr Whittaker’s evidence, the risk to any unknown sites can be suitably addressed. 26. I am of the opinion that the proposed development is consistent with the relevant District and Regional planning documents. 27. In summary, I consider the proposal achieves the purpose of the Act and am of the opinion that this application can be granted subject to the conditions set out in Appendix 9 of my evidence. KEY ELEMENTS OF PROPOSAL 28. The Applicants are a partnership between Sky Play Adventures Limited (SPA) and Tauhara North No.2 Trust. The Applicants are proposing to develop a ‘canopy tour’ along a stretch of the Waikato River (the river) downstream of Huka Falls. 29. A detailed description of the proposal is set out in Section 2 of the Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) and has been summarised below. 30. The proposed tour will include the construction of a Home Base, two new walking tracks and five zip lines that connect eight stations. The ziplines will cross the river five times. 31. The proposed Home Base for the operation will be located on the corner of Huka Falls and Loop Roads. This Home Base will be where visitors arrive for their tours, are greeted by staff, receive a briefing for the tour and are fitted with the necessary zipline equipment. 32. The Home Base will consist of a single story (roof height 5m) 72.1sqm office building (note that this is smaller than the 98sqm quoted in the AEE) with 5 the main entrance at the front of the building, parking areas for staff, visitors and buses, and landscaping of the area. 33. 18 car parks and two bus parks are to be provided on site. There is space onsite if the level of use dictates a need for additional parks. 34. Two toilets connected to a capture vault system will be located within the building. 35. A sign will be erected on poles in front of the building, adjacent to the roadside. 36. Tour groups will be transported from the Home Base by shuttle via the East Taupō Arterial (SH1) to Rakaunui Road, some 10km or a 15-minute drive away. The shuttles will cross private and Taupō District Council land to reach Station 1 at the start of the tour. The access route is shown in Appendix 1. 37. Each tour will take between 1–3 hours depending on customer preference, with the average tour duration estimated at 2 hours. Tours are anticipated to start every 40 minutes and there will be a maximum of 11 tours per day. 38. Each of the five runs will consist of two ziplines. Each zipline consists of two wires – a lower on-flight cable and a return cable located above. One guide will stay at the front of each group and go across the zipline first, and the second guide will stay at the back of the group and go last across each zipline, after all participants have been across. 39. The tour consists of eight stations, three of which are launch towers, three of which are landing and exit towers and two of which are combined landing and launch towers. These towers are to be constructed from steel and will be clad in timber with steel support cables. While their respective heights will differ, the footprint of each station will be approximately 25 square meters.

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