$6 million of ratepayer money reduced to Ladies Mile rubble

Analysis.

The walls and roof of the Queenstown Lakes District Council owned house at 516 Ladies Miles were being torn down today in a failed project that has so far cost ratepayers close to $15 million.

The house alone was valued at up to $7 million when the QLDC bought it in 2019, but that was on the assumption the house was in good shape. The council paid top dollar in spite of a pre-purchase report that identified it as a leaky building in need of work. That work was never done with the house literally rotting away.

The house and land purchase was justified to ratepayers as a "strategic "project to "protect Ladies Mile from developers" but resulted from a closed door meeting involving former mayor Jim Boult, councillors and the council CEO. What the council's strategy was has never been clear, but they did spend over $200,000 planning for the house as a community centre, while at the same time not carrying out the remedial work that the pre-purchase report said was necessary.

The copper roof from the toxic house will be recycled

The council even held a community open day after discovering that the property was infected with toxic mould.

Now the council plans to turn the land into sports fields and build a new car park and changing rooms on the site of the toxic house. A total of $6.8 million is budgeted to shift a temporary community hall from Luggate to the Ladies Mile Site, along with building the other sports field amenities. 

It's still not clear how this $22 million (plus) project has provided ratepayers' with value for money. There's no evidence either of the QLDC being able to explain why they bought the land and house in the first place.

It takes a fitting place with the $128 million Road to Nowhere (Arterial Road stage1), the $100 million loss on the luxury Lakeview apartments, the $60 million cosmetic CBD upgrade, and the millions spent so far planning the new council HQ (Project Manawa) as expensive follies at a time when the district is being hit by large rate rises, still without any adequate investment to date in clean drinking water, adequate public transport or any affordable housing solution.