Riverside Grove Subdivision
Riverside Grove is situated in Tuakau, an up-and-coming Waikato township that already has a strong infrastructure in place.
Tuakau’s recent increase in affordable, high-value housing development options offers a modern, spacious lifestyle with easy access to the city.
With local schools, shopping, walking tracks, and sports grounds already available to new residents, Riverside Grove aimed not only to fit seamlessly into its well-established surroundings but also to enhance the adjacent natural environments.
Riverside Grove has 93 residential sections. Stage 1 consists of lots 1 to 66, completed in 2019, after which a further 26 lots were developed in Stage 2, completed in 2020.
CivilPlan’s Involvement
CivilPlan worked with Hughs Development from the conception of the project in June 2018 to completion in February 2020. Our involvement included the full range of our expertise, from securing resource consents, surveying, engineering, project managing, and titling.
Stage 1 took a year to complete, with Stage 2 only taking a further six months after that. Our streamlined processes, relationships with the local council, efficient project management and dedication to quality workmanship played a role in the relatively short timeframe of this project – and getting it completed just in time before the Covid lockdowns.
Keeping schedules and timeframes front of mind, we partnered with our network of trusted contractors. We pride ourselves in excellent, functional designs for quality neighbourhoods, and our knowledge of the local council requirements meant a steady, smooth project without the need to go back and forth to meet regulations.
Early into our delivery, it was noted by our clients that CivilPlan’s drawings are exceptionally high quality compared to other consultancies.
Commitment to the Environment
As with all the developments we work on, we were committed to enhancing the surrounding natural environment.
In this instance, we needed to lower land levels in the neighbouring parkland so that it blended in with the subdivision and prevented a metre-and-a-half dropdown from our new road into the parkland. CivilPlan worked with the Waikato District Council to achieve this, and the result is a far more accessible area to a public amenity that looks more inviting from the street view.
As part of this project, we also created new pathways for public access and enhanced the Kairoa Stream riparian margins, further improving the overall aesthetic and usability of the parkland.
Challenges
The neighbouring rivers presented some challenges from a surveying point of view, as they had not been surveyed for many years. As rivers change and move the landscape overtime, we had some erosion, accretion, and common law issues to first manage.
The biggest challenge was the discharge of overflow stormwater onto the neighbouring property. The increased levels of water caused by development meant that the developers would need to get the neighbour’s consent to go ahead with the project.
To mitigate the flow of this water, CivilPlan designed and installed a 500m³ underground tank. Not only did this get the flow levels down to pre-development level by storing water and letting it out slowly, but it meant that consent was no longer needed from the neighbour, as there was no effect on the water levels of their pond.
Most importantly, using an underground tank instead of the more conventional method of creating a pond meant that CivilPlan saved the developer from losing half a dozen properties.
Experts in the Area
Our reputation in one project often awards us further opportunities in the nearby areas. After the completion of Riverside Grove, CivilPlan was recommended by the contractors to other developers due to our excellent project management and quality designs. Since then, we have worked on two more developments in the Tuakau area. This has made us experts in local regulatory knowledge and has resulted in strong relationships with key teams at the local councils.
We pride ourselves in our ability to effectively work together with regulatory bodies and other consultants/contractors to get the job done efficiently and to the highest standard.
