When nature reminds us that infrastructure matters.

In early 2023 the rivers of Hawke’s Bay rose higher than many anticipated and for communities like Pōrangahau and Wairoa the message was clear: standing still is not an option.

At Align Limited we often step in before the diggers arrive. In Pōrangahau we have taken on the full land-rights pathway: securing ownership or rights across approximately 25 parcels, plus another 5 iwi parcels coming online. Once the land-rights piece is clear, the 1.7 km flood-resilience network (stop-banks, flood-walls and a protective ridge) can proceed, enabling up to 138 homes to move from Category 2C to Category 1.

In the Wairoa district our role has centred on early engagement and land-readiness: negotiating access and rights across about a dozen parcels, working with land-owners, Crown/executive agencies and businesses so that the flood-works contract does not get held up by tenure issues. The outcome? Communities better placed to live safely and councils able to invest with confidence.

What Align did:

Land-tenure due diligence: mapping private, Crown and iwi titles and rights.
Willing buyer / willing seller negotiations (or rights purchase) for private land.
Complex iwi-land negotiations and Crown-land access agreements.

Coordinated hand-over of a clean land-rights package so the engineering and works contract can commence without tenure delay.

What this means for local authorities:

Infrastructure contracts can commence with far fewer unknowns.
Risk of project delays due to land access or tenure issues is significantly reduced.
The transition from “detect risk and hope to fix later” to “actively protect now” becomes operational rather than aspirational.