Profile
Vanessa specialises in resource management, infrastructure, and environmental law.
She has over 25 years' experience acting for a broad range of public and private clients on consenting and plan processes for housing, transport, energy and infrastructure projects. Vanessa regularly represents clients at all court levels on a broad range of resource management matters and has acted in two of the recent leading Supreme Court cases of significant precedent value to resource management consenting and plan-making processes generally. She also has a wide range of fast-track consenting experience having acted for a number of successful applicants and also as chair of a Fast Track Consenting Panel in relation to an integrated residential development in North Auckland.
In addition to litigation, project and advisory work, Vanessa has extensive experience advising clients on the environmental and planning aspects of property, banking, and commercial transactions.
Vanessa is extremely knowledgeable and is always able to provide outcomes that align with our best commercial interests.
Chambers Asia Pacific
- Recognised by IFLR1000 as a women leader and highly regarded lawyer for project development
- Vanessa is listed as a 'leading partner' for transport by Legal 500 and a 'leading individual' for environment and resource management by Chambers
- Member of the Resource Management Law Association
Work highlights
Western Line Level Crossings programme – Auckland Transport
Legal lead for one of Auckland's most significant transport infrastructure programmes, involving the removal or replacement of 21 at-grade level crossings on the Western Line to directly enable increased train frequencies that will be enabled by the City Rail Link
Acting for private developers
to successfully obtain significant new urban housing and commercial development zones in greenfield areas such as Pokeno in the North Waikato and Riverhead in Northwest Auckland
Advising Lightsource bp and Contact Energy
on utility-scale solar farm consenting projects, including the Glorit Solar Farm (170MW photovoltaic facility, Kaipara Harbour, north Auckland) under the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 fast-track process, and the Stratford Solar Farm and battery storage project (Stratford, Taranaki) under a two-stage consent process with direct referral to the Environment Court
Other fast-track projects
- Acted for Stevenson Aggregates on its successful fast-track application to obtain FTAA approvals for the Sutton Block quarry expansion under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024. Drury Quarry is currently the largest quarry in New Zealand, having operated at its current site for over 80 years
- Pokeno Developments: Housing and Tourism Fast-track proposal - Leading a multi-disciplinary team to successfully obtain a fast-track referral for a staged fast-track development including a regional tourism proposal plus 2200 houses in Pokeno, North Waikato
- Panel Chair for the Melia Place Development (housing development) under the Covid fast-track process
Advising NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) on the East West Link (EWL) project (2015 to date)
A NZ$3.7-4.1b Roads of National Significance project to enhance access to and from the Onehunga-Penrose industrial area of Auckland. Senior RMA legal adviser to NZTA from project inception through consenting, several higher court appeals, including two significant Supreme Court cases. Vanessa is now legal lead for the re-evaluation and pre-implementation phase of the current EWL project. It is one of New Zealand's most complex consenting projects, involving New Zealand's largest reclamation approved under the RMA as well as structures in high-value coastal areas. The EWL Supreme Court decision is a significant precedent case on policy and effects assessment under the RMA nationally
Lead legal adviser and project lead
for Auckland Transport's Takānini Levels Crossings project and Takānini Frequent Transit Network project