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Resolution number AE/2015/80
MOVED
by Deputy Chairperson GJ Fryer, seconded by Member H Arlington:
That the Albert-Eden Local Board:
a) Receives the
Mt Albert Town Centre Upgrade update report.
b) Notes that
the following facts were omitted from the report;
i. Regional Funding of Rail Stations;
I) In 2002, with Auckland City
Council funding and building the Britomart Station, Auckland
Regional Transport Network Limited (ARTNL) began a programme to
upgrade or relocate the 40 suburban stations on the Auckland rail
network.
II) This regional programme was
inherited by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) in
2004 and by Auckland Transport (AT) in 2010.
III) Now largely complete, this
upgrade programme has cost approximately $300 million.
ii. Mt Albert Station Upgrade;
I)
When Auckland Transport was established
in 2010 Mt Albert was in the first group of stations approved for upgrading
by them with a budget of $4.8 million.
II)
In 2011 the budget for Mt Albert
station was doubled to $9.88 million after taking into account the proposed
town centre upgrade and included elevated concourses at each end of the
platform and an eastern side bridge to the proposed town square.
III)
This change in budget was approved at
Auckland Transport board level as part of the regional station upgrade
programme and was not explicitly notified or consulted on as in the usual
annual plan or ten year planning process.
IV)
Stage 1 of the upgrade (platform fit
out, canopies and the northern concourse) was built in 2012-2013 at a cost of
about $6 million and opened in mid-2013.
V)
Stage 2 (southern and eastern
entrances) was slated for construction in 2013-2014 but was deferred because
of continuing uncertainty about ownership of the town square site that the
eastern entrance bridge would have to land on.
VI)
The remaining budget for all of this
work was about $3.6 million which had to be carried over into the 2013-2014
year and then again into the 2014-2015 year.
VII)
On the strength of Auckland Transport’s
apparent commitment to completing the station upgrade, the Board redoubled
its efforts to acquire the town square site from owners who point blank
refused to sell, eventually leading to expenditure of $1.17 million to buy
out the ground lease and more in the ongoing pursuit of the various sub
leases.
iii. Mt Albert Station Upgrade under
threat;
I)
In early 2015 the Board was advised
that funding for stage 2 was at risk of being cancelled altogether and
requested an urgent meeting with David Warburton, Chief Executive - Auckland
Transport.
II)
On 10 February 2015, it was agreed with
David Warburton that the Board’s priority was the eastern entrance (the
bridge linking to the town square) and that accordingly the southern entrance
could be deferred, reducing the budget required in the 2015-2016 year for
Auckland Transport to build the bridge to approximately $1.2 million (subject
to confirmation – the cost has since been established as $1.23 million).
III)
David Warburton agreed to discuss this
matter the following day with Stephen Town, Chief Executive - Auckland
Council, who in turn assured the Board of a “whole of Council group
intervention” which the Board understood to mean that all parties were
involved in resolving the matter.
IV)
However, it transpires that the “whole
of Council” approach has involved officials assuming that the Board would
agree to pay the total cost for the pedestrian bridge but without at any
stage discussing or negotiating this with the Board.
V)
The Board was informed of this “whole
of Council” decision at a workshop on 28 July 2015.
c)
Approves the re-scope of the Mt Albert
Town Centre Upgrade to focus on a pedestrian bridge and streetscape upgrade,
centred on the intersection of New North Road and Carrington Road, including
the delivery of a wider footpath and cycle lane integrated into the western
side of Carrington Road Bridge.
d)
Expresses its disappointment that the
Mt Albert rail pedestrian bridge, previously fully funded by Auckland
Transport, has been withdrawn from the Regional Land Transport Plan without
consulting the Board or informing the Board of its
unilateral decision.
e)
Requests Auckland Transport to allocate
$1.1 million over the next two years from the Local Board Transport Capital
Fund (LBTCF) to
commence the Mt Albert train station pedestrian bridge and stairs.
f)
Requests that Auckland Transport
undertakes to apply for a New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) subsidy for the
bridge which, if approved, will be returned and applied back to the Board’s
Local Board Transport Capital Fund (LBTCF).
g)
Notes that it is reluctant to cancel
other planned transport projects in order to fund the pedestrian bridge but,
since this project is such a high priority for the Mt Albert community and
businesses, the Board is left with no alternative.
h)
Thanks Ralph
Webster, Team Leader City Transformation – South, Peter Everett, Road
Development Manager Central, Nick Seymour, Auckland Transport Project
Director Public Transport Capital Improvements, and Felicity Merrington,
Auckland Transport Elected Member Relationship Manager, for their attendance.
CARRIED
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