Fast-Track fail for mega development
Plans for a Queenstown funicular, new ski field, convention centre and housing development will not be Fast-Tracked.
Bowen Peak Ltd, owned by Australian-based cancer surgeon Dr Guy Hingston, applied to have its $200 million-plus development between the One Mile Roundabout, Ben Lomond Saddle and Bowen Peak put on the controversial planning pathway.
But Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has declined to refer the submission to the Fast-Track panel.
The news has been welcomed by Forward Whakatipu, a group of locals representing mountain bikers, hikers, runners, and families, who launched a petition against the plans.
"We’re really pleased with the Minister’s decision," Callum Wood, on behalf of the group's board of trustees, says.
"With over 2,600 signatures on our petition against the mega-development, we’ve shown the influence and power of community voices coming together to protect our environment and stand up for a sustainable, liveable future in Tāhuna Queenstown.”
Wood had said the application would have set a dangerous precedent for fast-tracked developments on scenic reserves, "where private profit is prioritised over long-term community wellbeing and the environment".
But Bowen Peak Ltd pushed its environmental credentials with the aim of "restoring Te-taumata-o-Hakitekura Ben Lomond Reserve's birdlife, native forest and freshwater eco system" to the "pre-pakeha state".
The plans includes a two-track funicular railway, new commercial ski field, 1500-delegate convention centre, wildlife sanctuary, outdoor education centre, a new 1300-property suburb, and associated developments.
According to the documents, the Minister believed he did not have enough detail about the project, and so was not satisfied it would deliver significant regional or national benefits.
There were also substantial concerns over the project's feasibility, "especially in relation to three-water infrastructure servicing, risks associated with natural hazards,
a conflict with QLDC’s Arterial Bypass, and the viability of the proposed ski field".
Hingston, meanwhile, says his company is now looking at alternatives.
"We are ‘back to the drawing board’, and are now assessing a pylon-based funifor aerial railway passenger transport system (instead of the ground-based funicular) to see whether or not this can function with minimal ground and ONL [Outstanding Natural Landscape] disturbance as well as generate the long term international tourist income stream to help ‘Restoring the Reserve’ as close as possible back to its original native state."
He thanked the wider community, councils, consultants and NZ Government for taking the application seriously.
The Bowen Peak website has been updated and Hingston is welcoming feedback on the new plans by Friday, 28 November, via feedback@bowenpeak.co.nz
