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CKL celebrates 30-year anniversary
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 CKL Directors (L-R): Bevan Houlbrooke, Mark Gilberd (seated), Geoff Webster, Campbell Burrows (seated), Bronwyn Rhynd.
What a milestone! April marked 30 years of CKL supporting New Zealand property owners and developers with surveying, planning and engineering advice and expertise. Whilst we are a relatively conservative bunch, our continued business growth and success is something we are really proud of. We marked the occasion with a celebration for our team members in each of our offices. We will also be recognising this milestone with our clients and industry partners, hosting an event later this year. So keep an eye on your email inbox for an invitation.
Looking back at where we have come from, CKL was formed in 1988 by a partnership between John Carter, Rod Keucke, and David Latham – the C, K, and L in our name. The small Waikato based team was built on strong family values, which continues to this day. Original team members Kay Carter, Gill Latham, Robyn Magill, David Latham, Stuart Lennox, and Glen Wheatley were with us back in 1988 and are with us 30 years on. And a second generation of planners, surveyors and engineers now work as part of the CKL team.
CKL has never been afraid to diversify our offering to meet the changing needs of the industry as well as to expand the business into other regions to better serve our clients. Today we celebrate a team of over 100 talented and passionate individuals who bring a diverse skill set to CKL’s clients and projects including planning, surveying, land development, civil engineering, roading, environmental engineering, and stormwater engineering.
We are proud of where we have come from, as well as where we are heading. Congratulations everyone and we look forward to the next 30 years!
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CKL celebrates 20 years in Auckland
 In 1997, the CKL Directors could see strong opportunities for business growth in the Auckland region. John Carter, one of the founding partners, approached long-time friend and former work colleague Peter Burrows (pictured), to explore the idea of establishing an Auckland office and offered him the role of Auckland Business Development Manager. 20 years on Peter looks back at that time and shares the story with us...
"John and I first set out to find suitable office accommodation. Newmarket was our preference due to its central location. We found a small office at 123 Manukau Road, Newmarket, tucked at the back behind a Real Estate agent. Before we opened it was all hands on deck, with family members helping us to paint the office and get it set up ready for business."In May 1998 we started operations. The team consisted of myself, a Survey Technician who worked between Hamilton and Auckland, and a part time field assistant, Steve Rickerby, who is still part of CKL. Steve had been working in the Hamilton office and was keen to transfer to Auckland to start his studies at Unitech.
"After initial business planning it was a matter of intense marketing and networking with local land development industry members and local and central government agencies. This proved to be invaluable in quickly establishing work opportunities and within the first three months we were able to secure a significant government contract surveying surplus railway land.
"As the work came in, we grew the team and established an engineering practice to expand our services into land development engineering. Our growth precipitated a move to larger premises, still in the Newmarket area. Our strategy was always to diversify our offering to cover all sectors of the industry including private, and local and central government projects. This provided us with a robust client base that ensured growth and survival during economic downturns."
Peter continued to drive the business forward, and with many successes to his name, retired from his role as a Director in 2014. He continues to be actively involved with many of CKL's projects on a part time basis, enjoying more time fishing and with his many grandchildren.
Continuing to explore growth opportunities, in 2015 CKL merged with Stormwater Solutions Consulting Ltd, a specialist stormwater engineering company. This further expanded CKL’s services and provided additional opportunities for growth in the land development field. Again, with an expanding team of engineering professionals, CKL looked for suitable office space to accommodate the growing numbers, and relocated to the current Auckland office at 25 Broadway Newmarket.
CKL always had a vision that they would be a significant industry service provider in the Auckland region. With nearly 60 employees offering a range of services, they are proud of where they stand and remain committed to investing in their people to grow the business.
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Meet our newest team members
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As part of a strategic growth strategy to support current and future land development projects across the Waikato, CKL has recruited three senior engineers to the Hamilton team - Bob Peacocke, Andy Johnson, and Martin Gould. Combining local and international experience across numerous engineering disciplines, they share a passion for innovation and quality. The appointment of these three well-respected leaders reflects our continued investment in our people and commitment to the Waikato region.
Bob Peacocke - Project Director
Well known across the New Zealand and international project management and engineering community, Bob has firmly reconnected with his local roots after delivering a diverse range of high profile projects around the globe.
As a highly experienced project leader, Bob has led high-performing multidisciplinary project teams across many sectors including land and new-town development, urban development, infrastructure, transportation, government, energy, health and education capital development projects. His work has taken him to every corner of New Zealand, across to Australia and Samoa, and further afield to Qatar and United Arab Emirates.
Bob has joined CKL with a view to impart his knowledge and expertise to help younger engineers and project managers develop their skills and to open their eyes to the myriad of opportunities available to grow their careers. He will also provide valuable support to the Directors with strong project planning and programme management capability.
Taking over as Project Director on a number of high profile residential and industrial developments, Bob will oversee the next stages of the Rotokauri Rise development, as well as providing direction and management on other significant land development projects in which CKL is engaged. He will also play a prominent role in client liaison and CKL’s business development processes.
 Andy Johnson - Senior Engineer
Andy joined CKL mid-March, adding considerable expertise in the field of infrastructure engineering.
With over 16 years experience with water and waste water, he is excited about the opportunity to apply his skills and knowledge to local subdivision projects, expand his professional skill set and work as part of a close-knit team. He is relishing the chance to have a broader, hands-on role and share his knowledge by mentoring junior team members and helping them along their journey to become chartered engineers.
Andy is already taking ownership and leading a number of jobs, including the completion of the Parkwood subdivision, the construction of a 12-house subdivision on Borman Road, and a commercial subdivision on Tasman Road - within sight of his office.
He does not shy away from a challenge. He is diving deep into each project to fully understand its history and is spending time with his clients to build strong relationships.
 Martin Gould - Project Manager
Martin is the most recent addition to the CKL team in Te Awamutu, having started in early April.
Martin is a civil engineer and most recently has gained considerable experience in roading asset management with a local council.
Moving across to the consulting sector, he is able to bring his deep knowledge of council processes and strong relationships to this role in order to enhance the experience for the developer, particularly the first time developer. His open, honest communication style will certainly make first time developers more confident with the required approvals processes and certificates.
Without any downtime between roles, Martin hit the ground running and has been briefed on a number of projects and taken part in engineering meetings to fully immerse himself in the detail of the projects he will be working on.
The key projects on his plate for the immediate future include a seven-lot subdivision on Saint Ledger Road Te Awamutu, and a 44–lot subdivision in Matamata, which offers its own challenges with respect to stormwater management.
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Key milestone for Rotokauri Rise development
An outstand ing ten-stage residential development that will yield nearly 900 sections and cater for the expanding population within the ‘golden triangle’ is being delivered on time and cost effectively. Situated in one of the regions largest and most significant rural growth cells, the picturesque Rotokauri Rise subdivision, in close proximity to Te Awa and The Base, will include a mix of house and land packages or land only lots, three wetland areas, a playpark, and a retail centre. The residential areas will incorporate a mixture of housing, with larger sections on the ridgelines and increasing density toward the urban centre.
The developers behind Hamilton’s Rotokauri Rise, Rotokauri Developments Ltd (RDL), are delighted to have delivered stages three to five of the development to title, with over 130 lots now available for sale.
As a key development partner, CKL has been involved in the development of Rotokauri Rise from the start, transforming the bare land to urban lots with all the required services including power, telecommunications, water, wastewater, and roading.
Speaking about the recent delivery of stage three to five to title, CKLs Planning Manager, Andrew Wood said, “This development was unique as it incorporated a Master Plan led design approach and was the first development to be delivered to Hamilton Council’s new integrated catchment management plan.
“Recent changes to council requirements meant the CKL team needed to adopt new levels of stormwater treatment achievements in order to meet development deadlines.
“As leaders in water sensitive design and stormwater management, we were able to draw on existing resources within the CKL team to adapt our designs to accommodate the new requirements for the catchment area.
“We faced significant time pressure to deliver a revised stormwater management plan and design. The team pulled together and demonstrated skill and tenacity to overcome challenges faced by the varied topography of the sites along the ridgeline, whilst being sensitive to the underlying landforms and the expectations and deadlines set by the developers,” added Andrew.
CKL is now working towards the delivery of stage six; the roading corridor to Te Rapa. Beyond that, stages seven and eight incorporate an additional 200 lots of character, residential and medium density housing in an elevated area. This will bring its own challenges as many of these sites are on steeper topography and the ridgeline is more pronounced.
Through an holistic approach to the planning, design, development and construction of Rotokauri Rise, CKL is excited to work with RDL to bring future stages to title.
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Hamilton's first Special Housing Area gets green light from the Government
A Jebson Place development by Housing New Zealand and Waikato Tainui has received government approval and is set to boost housing supply and affordability.
Designated as a Special Housing Area (SHA) under the Housing Accords and Special Areas Act 2013, the development will bring 80 homes to Hamilton’s East and provide developers with “more permissive and faster resource consent and planning processes”.
The Jebson Place development will offer a mix of state housing, affordable private homes and Waikato-Tainui housing for tribal members. It will provide an opportunity for first home buyers, and those who qualify under the Government’s legislation, to get into the housing market, with some houses expected to be priced under $500,000.
Mark Gilberd and Bevan Houlbrooke, CKL's Hamilton based Directors are watching this progress closely. Bevan said, “This is the first of six SHA proposals due to go in front of Hamilton City Council for approval. The developers behind the SHAs are all working to progress as quickly as possible and CKL is involved in four of the six SHA proposals before Council.
“CKL is working with developers to create unique and attractive communities that respect the natural environment and incorporate green living spaces. Responsible for all below ground services, CKL is planning out the roading and infrastructure to accommodate higher-density living, as well as the necessary water, drainage and wastewater services.”
As work progresses, and consent granted, we will be providing updates on these SHA developments as they are an important build under the New Zealand Government KiwiBuild initiative.
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Commitment to sustainable design methodologies leads to consent success
Achieving council consent for land development is often a lengthy and challenging process involving multiple approvals of civil engineering designs and plans.
There are numerous steps that developers have to meet and at CKL, our expert planners, surveyors and engineers apply their extensive knowledge of sub-surface practice and work in partnership with our clients to navigate through the consent process.
A measure of our success is the granting of consent. With successful consents for major development projects across New Zealand, our clients are able to move forward on their projects in a timely manner and maximise their investment.
Reflecting on recent consents, Bronwyn Rhynd said, “New Zealand’s strong population and industry growth is influencing the speed of urban development and increasing the demand for residential and commercial land.
“Land development is at an all time high and we are seeing growth at both ends of the scale, from relatively straight forward single property subdivisions to multi-lot, staged urban development projects.
“We are conscious of the changing nature of our landscapes and the impact of the built environment on water catchment and flow. The inclusion of comprehensive and innovative water and stormwater management strategies has been a focus for all our land development design applications.
“Our commitment to sustainable engineering design methodologies sets us apart in this industry. We believe this provides us with a major advantage and has been a pivotal factor in our successful consents,” Bronwyn added.
To learn more about our approach to sustainable design, contact your local CKL office.
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Zeb Worth and Tony Wang to present at upcoming Stormwater 2018 Conference
 The 2018 Stormwater Conference will be held in Queenstown on 23-25 May. The theme of Wai Ora – Rising to the Challenge provides a platform to introduce, explore, address and challenge the impacts of stormwater on the environment. Conference participants have been invited to present research papers for presentation and discussion, in line with the purpose of the meeting - to share knowledge, experience, emergent technology and research. This year, two of CKL's stormwater specialists will present papers detailing innovative methodologies and frameworks for improving stormwater management. By sharing their ideas and solutions, Tony Wang and Zeb Worth, with the support of Bronwyn Rhynd, will challenge existing thinking and expand industry knowledge and approaches to stormwater management.
 Tony is presenting a paper entitled “Bio-filtration Raingarden, from design to built”.
In this paper, Tony looks at the challenges faced by many stormwater engineers when designing stormwater management solutions to meet regulatory requirements. Tony presents raingardens as a flexible and viable alternative to hard-engineered stormwater infrastructure. As outlined in his paper, raingardens can provide treatment, runoff attenuation, and groundwater recharge as well as providing a greater connection between the urban and natural environment. Tony presents a series of case studies from recent Stormwater Solutions Consulting Ltd/CKL projects across the Waikato and Auckland regions. He walks through the challenges, the design methodologies, and the construction and maintenance requirements of the individual raingardens. In summary, the case studies have demonstrated how an iterative approach to raingarden design, construction and maintenance has resulted in an overall improvement to best practice design methodology and delivered quality outcomes for the developments and communities in question.
 Zeb’s paper is entitled “Integrated Catchment Management Planning for the next generation”.
As defined by Zeb, Integrated Catchment Management Planning (ICMP) is a process for developing a framework to guide the development and land use activities with respect to water resources within a catchment. It is a tool for establishing the demands and effects of existing and proposed land uses at a catchment scale, and developing high-level management strategies.
Zeb has recognised that during the development of a management framework, a collaborative and holistic approach that takes into consideration all of the associated functions within the catchment (cultural context, biodiversity, hydrogeological conditions and the relationship to other catchments) can greatly improve the catchment for existing and future generations. He acknowledges that these functions are often viewed in silos or in a linear fashion. By taking a more holistic view of all the relevant data, Zeb provides recommendations for continually improving how we plan for and manage water resources.
If you are interested in these papers or the conference, go to: http://stormwaterconference.org.nz
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Bronwyn Rhynd to present at 4th Annual Women in Leadership Conference
 Recently recognised as a 2017 Westpac Women of Influence Business Enterprise Finalist, our very own Bronwyn Rhynd, will be a speaker at the 4thAnnual Women in Leadership Conference in Auckland (18–20 June 2018). The conference brings together an outstanding line-up of New Zealand women from a diverse range of industries and sectors who are leading the way for business empowerment, leadership, and career advancement. The speakers and panel members are insightful, inspiring, and willing to share their personal stories and experiences to support other women to grow as business leaders.
In esteemed company, Bronwyn will take the stage on day two of the conference, which will focus on ‘Maximising Potential and Achieving Leadership Goals’. The morning session will explore ‘Personal Value Systems and Business Strategies for Success’ with Rt Hon Dame Jenny Shipley at the keynote speaker. Immediately following this, Bronwyn will form part of a panel discussion to explore the topic of ‘Navigating a Male Dominated Arena’. Fellow panelists include Inspector Julia Lynch (NZ Police), Rachel Froggatt (Paralympics New Zealand) and Suzanne Stew (Ministry of Justice). Bronwyn is well placed to offer significant value to this discussion. She has worked as an engineer all her professional life and built and grown a successful consulting business (Stormwater Solutions Consulting Ltd) before merging with CKL, taking on a Director role. Bronwyn has always been an extremely active industry member and advocated for change, enhanced collaboration, and the ongoing exchange of knowledge to drive the industry towards a better future. She is an inspiring leader and a role model for many within the industry.
For more information or tickets to the conference, go to: www.newzealand.womenleadersummit.com |
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Copyright © 2018 CKL, All rights reserved.
Contact us:
Auckland Office • Level 2, 25 Broadway, Newmarket, Auckland • Tel (09) 524 7029
Hamilton Office • 58 Church Road, Te Rapa, Hamilton • Tel (07) 849 9921
Te Awamutu Office • 103 Market Street, Te Awamutu • Tel (07) 871 6144
www.ckl.co.nz
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