Enabling works for Te Taumata o Titirangi Summit (Kaiti Hill) redevelopment will begin Monday 22 July.

Work to remove the earthquake-prone observatory building and stabilise the land will be completed over August and September in preparation for landscaping and planning of the new multi-purpose facility to begin.

Eight-thousand cubic metres of earth will be removed from the knoll where the current structure sits so the land can be stabilised.

Queen’s Drive will be limited to one way traffic for the duration of the work. Traffic management will be in place and contractors on site during daylight hours Monday to Friday, and potentially weekends (weather dependant).

Vehicles travelling up the hill will need to exit over the summit down Titirangi Drive to Endcliffe Road.

Project manager, Ranell Nikora says with the number of truck movements anticipated, for safety the road needs to be one-way.

“We ask everyone using the road over the hill to be alert and take extra care.”

“We also understand this will increase traffic in the residential area, however it will be safer for everyone using the maunga.”

“We’re in contact with organisers from Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti to work in with the Titirangi/Kaiti Hill Everest Challenge due to start in September.”

“We appreciate patience from the community while the work is being completed and aim to keep disruption from noise, dust and traffic to a minimum.”

The work received archaeological authority through Heritage New Zealand and is being delivered as part of the summit redevelopment project, in partnership with Ngati Oneone.

The gun emplacement will be tidied and the area landscaped before October. Council and iwi will develop the concepts for a new multi-purpose building and will engage with the community on designs over the next year.

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