ISSUED BY: Eden Park Redevelopment Board

MEDIA RELEASE: Eden Park neighbours withdraw appeal against Eden Park
redevelopment

Chairman of the newly established Eden Park Redevelopment Board, John
Waller, today announced that the Board had reached a settlement with the
Eden Park Neighbours Association (EPNA) which has resulted in EPNA
withdrawing their appeal to the Environment Court against the resource
consents granted to the Park in January this year.

“This is a great result for the Park and for the local residents as it will
enable the redevelopment to proceed on schedule while still taking account
of local concerns in both the design and construction phases of the
project,” Mr Waller said.

The Park currently has consents in place for building a larger stadium, but
under the terms of the agreement reached last month between the Government
and the Eden Park Trust Board, the new South Stand will be a significantly
smaller structure and, post-Rugby World Cup, the seating will be reduced
from the 60,000+ capacity for the tournament.

Mr Waller said: “The draft concept design significantly reduces a number of
adverse impacts on the local residents such as shading and
traffic/pedestrian flows.”

The terms of the agreement reached include:
- Reduction in the height and bulk of the South Stand which will reduce
shading impacts on nearby houses and its visual impacts on the residential
neighbourhood;
- Independent assessment of shading impacts from the new structures, and
the development of mitigation packages for affected neighbours;
- A bus/coach terminal in the south-west corner of the Park to improve
traffic and pedestrian flows around the streets bordering the Park;
- Reduction in the height of light towers which will lessen “light spill”
into adjoining neighbours;
- A consultation forum enabling neighbours to have input into key aspects
of the redevelopment, including the development of protocols for traffic
management at the Park, and the demolition and construction phases of the
project.

Mr Waller thanked EPNA for the constructive attitude that had been adopted
throughout the negotiation and their willingness to compromise in a manner
that not only avoided costly and time-consuming litigation, but also
delivered benefits to the community and the Park.

“Mark Donnelly (EPNA chairman) has acknowledged the role of the Park to Mt
Eden and the importance of Rugby World Cup 2011 for Auckland and New
Zealand as a whole. This has ensured that we still have a design which
produces a first-class venue with all the critical functionality of a
modern sports stadium.”

Mr Waller said that although variations would be required to the existing
consents obtained for the Park, the withdrawal of the appeal removed a
major barrier to engaging the key contractors for the project.

“The redevelopment project is now firmly back on track, and the
Redevelopment Board looks forward to working with Eden Park management, the
local residents and all the other stakeholders to deliver the finals venue
for Rugby World Cup.”

Ends

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