Warkworth

Where are we heading?

Auckland Transport has now lodged confirmed designation decisions on the Notices of Requirement (NoRs) with Auckland Council for the Warkworth projects.

The decisions follow Auckland Transport receiving Council’s recommendation from the independent hearings panel. The hearing was held from 13–24 November 2023. Council’s recommendation was issued in May 2024.

Auckland Council has published the decision and is notifying submitters and other interested parties of the decision and the 15-day appeal period. The next step after that will be resolution of any appeals that may be filed.

Below is the full list of NoRs with links.

Corridor	NoR reference	Lapse Period	Link to NoR
Northern Public Transport Hub and Western Link - North	NoR 1	20 years	Link to NoR
Woodcocks Road - West Upgrade	NoR 2	15 years	Link to NoR
State Highway 1 – South Upgrade	NoR 3	15 years	Link to NoR
Matakana Road Upgrade	NoR 4	15 years	Link to NoR
Sandspit Road Upgrade	NoR 5	25 years	Link to NoR
Western Link - South	NoR 6	20 years	Link to NoR
Sandspit Link	NoR 7	25 years	Link to NoR
Wider Western Link - North	NoR 8	20 years	Link to NoR

Past Phases

The Notice of Requirement documentation was lodged with Auckland Council to protect the land we need for future Warkworth projects on 12 May 2023. Public notification of lodgement took place on 9 June 2023, and submissions closed on 7 July 2023.

The lodgement documents are available for you to read by going to  Auckland Council's website

The public hearing

The hearing took place from 13 November to 24 November, 2023 where the requiring authority (Auckland Transport) and all submitters had an opportunity to present and be heard.

These projects are not funded for implementation or construction. It is anticipated they will be considered for funding in line with the long-term timeframes for the rezoning and release of land by Auckland Council over the next 10-30 years.

Warkworth Timeline

Click on the orange icons to track the progress of Warkworth.

About Warkworth

By 2048, there will be another 7,300 homes in Warkworth's future growth areas, and the population is expected to rise from 5,000 to around 22,000.

To support Warkworth’s growth, Te Tupu Ngātahi Supporting Growth is planning a long-term transport network so that current and future communities can have better access to safe, accessible and low-carbon transport choices.

Our focus is on planning for future growth now by protecting the land required for the new transport corridors before homes and communities are built.

Our transport planning integrates with Auckland Council’s Warkworth Structure Plan to create high quality and more compact future communities with greater access to active and public transport options for north, south and north-east Warkworth. We have also considered how these projects will integrate with other priority projects such as the Ara Tūhono – Pūhoi to Warkworth Motorway, Te Honohono ki Tai - Matakana Link Road, the Hill Street Improvements and other transport upgrades delivered by the Rodney Local Board.

The majority of the proposed projects are yet to be funded for delivery. It is anticipated they will be considered for funding in line with the long-term timeframes for the rezoning and release of land by Auckland Council over the next 10-30 years.

What are we proposing?

The preferred transport network to accommodate future growth in Warkworth includes:

Provision for walking and cycling paths on new and upgraded transport corridors to create a well-connected network and provide better access to sustainable travel choices
In the long term, two new bus interchanges - a northern bus interchange with park and ride to replace the interim site and a southern bus interchange to encourage a shift to public transport.
In the long term, a new southern interchange to provide additional access to Ara Tūhono – the Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway.
Future new transport corridors that will connect to wider destinations, enable future land uses, provide more choice for users and add further capacity across the network
Future upgrades to several roads including the existing State Highway 1, which will function as an urban arterial road (as Ara Tūhono – the Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway will become the new State Highway 1).

Warkworth Strategic Transport Network Map

Click on the below image to enlarge.

How have we used your feedback?

Community feedback has helped us to develop business cases and identify route options.

In 2019 we prepared an Indicative Business Case (IBC) for the future transport network for Warkworth. The resulting indicative strategic network took account of the views of the community, which included having greater transport choices with good walking and cycling facilities and frequent, reliable public transport.

In 2020 we started work on the Warkworth Detailed Business Case which included reviewing the IBC network and completing further technical assessments to provide more detail and inform future route protection work.

From April to June 2022 consulted on these refined route proposals with community and landowners to help us develop our Detailed Business Case. This feedback was considered alongside more environmental and technical assessments to help us make decisions around the preferred options. This resulted in some shifts to the alignment of the new transport corridors to better respond to existing and future land use and avoid environmental features.