Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, October 9, 2023
Peacocke is one of Hamilton’s largest greenfield areas and the third area to be developed after Rototuna and Rotokauri, enabling Hamilton to grow as a city of the future.
When completed, Peacocke will be home to up to 20,000 Hamiltonians, and in a bid to get it ready for them, a new transport network in Peacocke is taking shape with the final form revealed for the main road and roundabout after two years of complex underground and structural works.
Hamilton City Council’s General Manager of Infrastructure and Assets, Andrew Parsons, said seeing the last stages of construction begin is terrific after nearly three years of hard work.
“We are on the home straight so we will see the project really come to life in the next couple of months,” said Mr Parsons.
Depending on the weather conditions over the summer, the new bridge, transport and three waters networks are due to be completed by mid-2024.
“Significant landscaping works under the bridge and along the new roads are well underway and the first balustrades for the bridge sides were installed this week. New speed limits, upgraded roads, and dedicated bus lanes along the new bridge and main road are part of the transport package in Peacocke,” said Mr Parsons.
The first section of the upgraded road along Peacockes Road will be opened to traffic soon while works are completed on the new four-way roundabout. The ring road extension, which connects the new Waikato River bridge with Peacockes Road, will be progressed as part of the 2023/24 summer
construction season, with the final elements and finishing touches to follow.
Future-proofed network design
The future-proofed transport network design will deliver safer and more efficient ways to get around the area and provide key connections to the rest of the city for the 20,000 Hamiltonians that will call Peacocke home.
Mr Parsons said since awarding the contract in late 2020, the project has had to manage a sustained series of challenges and disruptions.
“We initially hoped to be finished in mid-late 2023, but the cumulative impacts of the pandemic response in New Zealand and severe weather events experienced this year have made that impossible.”
Growth Programmes Manager Karen Saunders said the landowners and developers in Peacocke have told us they are excited to see the project shaping up and are preparing to get on with their development plans.
“It is great to see this project progressing before the next major development starts in Peacocke,” said Ms Saunders.
“Through collaborative partnerships, some works like road intersections and service connections required for subdivisions funded by developers have been included in the current project scope. This means new developments will have connections from the get-go.”
About Peacocke
“The work happening in Peacocke is transformative. It is a game-changer that unlocks the area for more homes and development of the city’s newest neighbourhood,” said Ms Saunders.
Peacocke is being built with the support of the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, made up of a $180.3 Million 10-year interest-free loan and $110.1 million of NZ Transport Agency subsidies.
The Peacocke programme will deliver a new bridge, a transport network that caters for public transport, pedestrians and cyclists, parks, and strategic water, wastewater and stormwater networks.
Other work includes protecting and enhancing the environment, including the extensive gully system, opening the area to the Waikato River, and investigating community facilities which are also important parts of creating a new community in Peacocke.
Peacocke is also registered for a Green Star – Communities rating through the New Zealand Green Building Council. This means that the Council-led Peacocke programme to enable future development in the area is being assessed across a range of criteria around the quality of its sustainability features and as a healthy place to live.
A decade in making, Peacocke is already being vouched for as a model for city planning, cutting-edge urban design and environmental resilience by the Council.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
