Road Corridor Access and Property Approvals Fee Changes Road Corridor Access and Property Approvals Fee Changes
Corridor Access Request Fee Changes
Proposal outcome: September 2023
In July 2023, we proposed to update our Corridor Access Request fees. They were last updated in 2016 and the proposal aims to make sure that we recover our cost of doing business. After reviewing all the feedback, we are proceeding with the proposed changes as outlined below. The new fees will be effective from Sunday, 1 October 2023. Full pricing is available on our webpage: CAR fees and charges (at.govt.nz)
Proposed changes to Corridor Access Request fees
| Fee Schedule Item | Title | Proposed Change |
|
1 |
Maintenance, renewal, and improvement of utility structures |
5% decrease |
| 2.1 |
Temporary placement of mobile plant or equipment in the road reserve for building construction activities (non-utility related) - generally for less than 10 days |
5% decrease |
|
2.2
2.3 |
Temporary occupation of the road reserve for building construction activities – usually involves the placement of hoardings or security fences to restrict public access |
Fees relating to temporary occupation will be removed from this fee schedule and will be set on a case-by-case basis under AT’s general powers as required |
| 2.4 |
Reimbursement of on-street parking revenue |
Increase to align with current on-street parking prices |
| 3 |
Temporary Road Closures |
5% decrease |
| 4 |
Auditing of work sites in the road corridor |
5% decrease |
| 5 |
Non-compliance charges |
200% increase |
| NEW |
After Hours call out fee |
Cost per hour |
This change distributes the costs of doing business in a way that benefits customers who provide complete and accurate requests and correctly apply their approved activity within the road corridor. Customers who require additional support with managing their activity in the road corridor will be charged appropriately for additional costs.
The renaming of “non-compliance” charges to “additional corridor management” charges has been made to better reflect the reason these costs are incurred.
Community feedback
Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to our survey. Answers to questions and suggestions are below.
Maintenance, renewal, and improvement of utility structures (fee schedule item 1)
- What about the construction of new utility assets?
The fee schedule will continue to apply.
Building construction activities (fee schedule items 2.1-2.4)
- Request for more clarity around how and what will be applied to fees 2.2 and 2.3 and suggestion that the changes will make it harder to plan an activity if margins are tight which could lead to non-conformance.
We need to understand and assess the impacts of a proposed temporary occupancy on other parties and will apply rental at market rates where temporary loading zones or other occupation of the road reserve (including the footpath and berm) for building construction activities are requested. Market rates will be calculated based on the value of the adjoining property and the square metre size of the occupation.
- Regarding 2.2, how much do I allow for AT charges when I am quoting a job?
When submitting your request in myWorksites you will be able to see an indication of fees associated with your application. This will not include any progress inspections, additional corridor management charges or occupancy charges. If you require more information for an indicative quote, you can contact the Road Corridor Access team.
Additional Corridor Management Charges (previously non-compliance charges; fee schedule item 5)
- What is the justification for a 200% increase?
This fee review is due to an increase in our costs since our last published fee schedule in 2016. Additional corridor management charges are proposed to increase by 200% and are associated with additional monitoring and support where requests have been incorrectly applied within the road corridor.
- What actions are considered as non-compliance?
This includes unapproved works, no notification of the commencement of works, issue of a non-conformance notice, issue of a stop work order, late completion, and no notification of the completion of work.
- What will the non-compliance charges be?
The proposed additional corridor management charges (previously non-compliance charges) are shown below:
- Suggestion that it is unfair to apply the same fee to different levels of non-compliance. Non-compliance ranges from unacceptable to dangerous so the fee should have a range, like different types of parking fines.
Under the terms of the Local Government Act and the Activities on the Road Corridor bylaw, we must charge Corridor Access fees to that recover cost. Parking fines are governed by different laws that allow a different type of pricing structure.
- Suggestion to stop the automatic charging of fines for non-notification of work start as sometimes jobs are postponed last minute.
We need to manage the whole roading network across Auckland in a way that minimises disruption and makes sure that everyone using the road and footpath is safe. To do that, we must have a clear view of when a planned activity is happening so that we can undertake activities such as changing bus routes, and managing other work sites that impact the flow of traffic in a similar area. If there are changes to a plan, we need to know as this also impacts the activity that we undertake.
After hours call out fee (new fee schedule item)
- What is the after-hours charge?
The proposed cost per hour for after-hours charges is $142.50 excluding GST. This would be charged from 5pm to 8am Monday to Friday, and any time on weekends and public holidays.
- What is defined as dangerous and significant nature?
We need to make sure the road is a safe place for workers and the community. When we receive a complaint from the community, we will arrange to follow up on that complaint quickly. If the worksite is shown to be set up in a way that is dangerous and poses a risk to the community, and additional support and follow up is required to resolve this setup, then a fee will be incurred.
More information
- Please note that any changes must adhere to our responsibilities under the Local Government Act 2002, National Code of Practice for Utility Operatorsand Activities in the Road Corridor Bylaw.
Technical property services fee changes
In July 2023, we proposed to update our fees structure for processing encroachment, building line restrictions cancellation, and road stopping applications. After reviewing all the feedback, we are proceeding with the changes, outlined below, as proposed. The changes will be implemented within the next 2-3 months.
Changes to the fee structure
| Application type | Description of change | Fee (inc. GST) |
| Minor encroachment | A new lower-level fee deposit. | $690 fee deposit |
| Standard encroachment | A new application type that includes the following applications: • Construction and Maintenance Encumbrance (Minor) • Airspace Licence (Minor) • Subsoil Licence (Minor) • Surface Licence Miscellaneous |
$1,725 fee deposit |
| Major encroachment | A new application type that includes the following applications: • Construction and Maintenance Encumbrance (Major) • Airspace Licence (Major) • Subsoil Licence (Major) |
$2,875 fee deposit |
| Encroachment administration | Renaming of Licence Administration to more appropriately fit the work undertaken. Change from a fixed fee to a fee deposit. | $402.50 fee deposit |
| Pre-application meeting | No change. | $345 fixed fee |
| Post-approval monitoring, site visit or inspection | A new fee for a site visit to inspect encroaching works. | $220 fixed fee |
| Building line restrictions cancellation | A fee increase to reflect cost increases since the fee was last set in 2021. | $690 fixed fee |
| Road stopping | A fee increase to reflect cost increases since the fee was last set in 2009. | $1,500 fee deposit |
- Where the fee is a fee deposit:
- AT will charge staff time spent on the application against the fee deposit using the applicable staff members’ then current internal hourly rates (these are reviewed by AT annually).
- Time spent on the application by AT staff includes processing time, expert advice, site visits, inspections and managing any approval conditions.
- When the fee deposit is exhausted, the additional time spent, which will be calculated using the applicable staff members' then current internal hourly rates, will be invoiced to the applicant as the application progresses.
- AT may waive or reduce fees at its discretion.
- All disbursements and third party costs incurred by AT in processing the application, such as valuation and legal fees and Land Information New Zealand search and registration fees, must also be paid by the applicant.
Community feedback
Thank you to all those who provided feedback on this proposal. A summary of the feedback and our responses is below.
- Why are deposit fees not refundable? Fees should be reduced if timeframes are not met.
We can refund the fee deposit if the application does not proceed. However, we cannot reduce fees if timeframes are not met. This is because:
- There are no statutory processing timeframes for encroachment applications.
- Processing timeframes are often impacted by circumstances beyond AT’s control, such as the complexity of the application, the quality of information provided by the applicant and the need to consult with affected third parties.
- Fees are already too high for works.
The cost of processing an encroachment application usually exceeds the amount of the fee deposit. We have not proposed an increase to fee deposit levels for encroachment applications. We’ve proposed to introduce a new minor encroachment application fee deposit at a lower level.
More information
You can find more information about these applications here: