Stakeholder Engagement I Community Engagement I Strategic Communications
Engaging communities on a major transport proposal
Town Hall worked alongside Auckland Light Rail and its partner agencies to design and deliver stakeholder engagement, community consultation and public awareness activity for a proposed rapid transit connection between Auckland’s city centre and Māngere.
As one of New Zealand’s most significant proposed transport investments, the project involved multiple public agencies, diverse corridor communities and considerable public and political scrutiny. Over two years, Town Hall helped establish the relationships, engagement channels and communications infrastructure needed to bring communities into the conversation and gather meaningful feedback to inform project development.
Rendering of light rail on Bader Drive, Māngere.
Our Approach
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We mapped and prioritised stakeholders across five distinct corridor communities and the wider Auckland region, establishing relationships, neighbourhood liaison groups and forums to support ongoing dialogue. This created opportunities for local voices to be heard and helped ensure engagement reflected the different needs, perspectives and aspirations of each community.
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We developed and delivered two major public engagement rounds, moving from early listening and awareness-building to consultation on route and station options. The programme combined community events, workshops, stakeholder briefings, digital channels and translated materials, helping people from different backgrounds participate in ways that worked for them.
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The programme operated through COVID-19 restrictions, local elections, leadership changes and sustained public scrutiny. When lockdown disrupted the final weeks of the first engagement round, we adapted the approach to maintain access to information and opportunities to provide feedback. Consistent messaging, coordinated agency communications and established stakeholder relationships helped sustain engagement through a changing environment.
The Impact
Across two major engagement rounds, Town Hall helped deliver a substantial programme of community and stakeholder engagement, generating feedback on the proposed corridor, route options and station locations.
More than 2,700 responses were received during the 2021 engagement round, with 66% of respondents expressing support for light rail at that time.
Nearly 1,500 completed feedback forms were received during the 2023 consultation on route and station options.
Extensive community reach, including 32,000 website visits during the 2023 engagement period, alongside community events, stakeholder briefings, elected representative meetings and targeted digital activity.
Practical engagement infrastructure, including stakeholder maps, Neighbourhood Liaison Groups, working groups, translated materials and established channels for ongoing communication.
Feedback provided through the programme informed the development of route and station options, including community perspectives on alternative alignments in Onehunga.
While the proposed project did not proceed, the work demonstrates Town Hall’s experience in planning and delivering engagement for complex infrastructure proposals - bringing together agencies, reaching diverse communities and creating meaningful opportunities for public input on decisions that affect Auckland’s future.
