Bite-size news: PM visit, worker housing, culture plan
PM at The Remarks
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was at The Remarkables skifield on Friday to open the new Shadow Basin Express chairlift.
Luxon was joined by Finance Minister Nicola Willis to open the $23 million six-seater Doppelmayr chairlift, which opens up 47ha of intermediate and advanced terrain, including new trails and the Alta Chutes.
While the lack of snow didn't allow for any runs, more than 20cms have fallen at the base since then and 37cm at the top, so skiers and boarders might get to try out the new chairlift and runs this week.
Sir John Davies' family, which owns NZSki through Trojan Holdings Ltd, has now invested $90 million in The Remarkables over the past 10 years, and millions in Coronet Peak too.
The new lift will ferry 2400 passengers per hour up to a new top station at a higher elevation, with the journey taking under four minutes. It replaces the 33-year-old four-seater chairlift.
Luxon was also in Wānaka on Thursday with Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti for the official naming of the Wānaka birthing unit. It has been named Rākai Kahukura, gifted by iwi and inspired by the process and thoughts surrounding birthing with ‘rākai’ means to adorn, and ‘Kahukura’ a type of cloak.
The birthing unit, which will support around 50 births and 400 families each year, will open for pregnant women and families from July 29. It includes a birthing room with an ensuite and birthing pool, four post-natal rooms with ensuites, an antenatal clinic, a community room and a whānau room.
Dr Reti also announced a new after hours urgent care service will be available in Wānaka for 12 months starting in September. The nurse-led service would be available from 11pm-8am, seven days a week, in a collaboration between Health New Zealand and Central Otago Health Services Ltd.
- Additional reporting Maddy Harker / Wānaka App
Frankton on the rise
Eight multi-storey apartment blocks capable of housing more than 700 workers will be built opposite Queenstown Events Centre, after the project was given the greenlight last week under Covid-19 Fast-Track laws.
Developer No.1 Hansen Road Limited will build the three-to-five storey buildings around the new carparking building currently under construction, near the Frankton BP roundabout. They will have 554 rooms/units (including hostel type rooms, and one, two and three-bedroom units) along with associated communal facilities, infrastructure and landscaping, and 15 commercial/retail tenancies on the ground floor.
The expert panel that considered the application had concerns about the impact the height of five of the eight buildings would have on the nearby Outstanding Natural Landscape (ONL), the foothills of Queenstown Hill, but granted consent after the developer agreed to reduce the height by one-storey on each of the five buildings.
Culture plans approved
A community-led Creativity, Culture and Heritage Strategy for Queenstown Lakes was given the thumbs up by district councillors, at Thursday's full council meeting.
Te Muka Toi, Te Muka Tākata will be led by regional arts organisation Three Lakes Cultural Trust (TLCT), the Lakes District Museum, QLDC itself, and other organisations. It is based around five foundations and five strategic priorities, which will be the focus of the next 10 years.
TLCT Chair Gizelle Regan says: "It will help us focus resources in the right areas, bring people and organisations together, increase capability and protect our taoka, ensuring that creativity, culture, and heritage help our place and our communities to thrive."
The strategy was developed over 17 months, with input from 150 organisations and many more individuals. It can be read at www.qldc.govt.nz/creativity-culture-heritage-strategy.
