Developers: QLDC not keeping up with infrastructure demand

Two sizeable residential developments in Queenstown are stalling as their developers say the council is not keeping ahead of three waters demand.

Plans for 49 units aimed at workers at Arthurs Point have "hit a major issue", according to planner Blair Devlin of Vivian + Espie.

Existing wastewater infrastructure is insufficient to cope with the additional load the new homes would bring to the area.

"Modelling revealed that there'd be uncontrolled manhole overflows as the project proceeded and the solution is a pipeline upgrade of 1.2 kilometres, so quite a substantial project," Mr Devlin says.

Currently, the Queenstown Lakes District Council has no money allocated towards such an upgrade in its draft Long Term Plan.

Mr Devlin says the development, by Sir Robert Stewart, the founder and chairman of SKOPE Industries, is proposed for land located between the tenpin bowling centre and the Coronet Peak turn off that was rezoned as medium and high density three years ago.

He says he is concerned that despite this rezoning, and potentially even more intensive rezoning to come, there is no capacity in the wastewater system to "handle" it.

It is his view zoning and infrastructure capacity are not "lining up".

The units are set to be 'build to rent', potentially leased to one big employer, like NZSki, for example, and Mr Devlin says, "they would make a meaningful contribution to housing supply in Queenstown".

He says Sir Robert "has gone to considerable expense to prepare the consent application" only to reach this "significant barrier".

Mr Devlin was speaking on behalf of Sir Robert at the first of two days of hearings of submissions on the council's Long Term Plan.

At Monday's hearing, deputy mayor Quentin Smith asked Mr Devlin if he thought the council "should only be rezoning land when we can practically supply the infrastructure to it?".

To which Mr Devlin replied, "It's an age-old question of what comes first". He also told the mayor in looking back on the decision to rezone it appeared the impacts on transport had been well-versed, but on infrastructure, less so.

A similar issue was flagged at the hearing by another planner, Jenny Carter, speaking on behalf of Mee Holdings and Peninsula Hill Limited, who owns 180 hectares of land that they are developing at Kelvin Heights. 

In the process of doing so, Ms Carter says they have discovered "the infrastructure out there is inadequate and needs upgrading".

She says the developer has been working with council staff to identify the work that needs doing, and it includes building a new treated water reservoir as well as upgrading water mains and a pump station.

"We've got a developer here who's willing and keen to work in with council to upgrade the infrastructure, so we're hoping to have some budget put into the Long Term Plan."

In response to a question from Councillor Lyal Cocks on whether her client would be happy to pay development contributions early to get the ball rolling, Ms Carter indicated that could be an option.

Main image (QLDC eDocs/Warren and Mahoney): A view of some of 49 units proposed for Arthurs Point Road in Queenstown.