QLDC's new HQ debate - just when we thought it couldn't get any worse

A full meeting of the Queenstown Lakes District Council this afternoon managed to talk round in circles (again) over plans for a future Civic Administration Building.

One difference this time was that at least one councillor, Gavin Bartlett, appeared to lose patience with project manager Paul Speedy who struggled to answer even the most basic questions about the work done by consultants so far.

Councillor Bartlett wanted to know in particular about work that the consultants were supposed to have done around where council staff live, and commute from. He indicated that councillors had been waiting for this information since April 2024.

Mr Speedy indicated that this work needed to be looked at "from a higher level", including "modal shift" meaning that the council's 600 staff were expected to literally start travelling by bike and bus.

But Councillor Bartlett continued with a long list of questions that had been asked by elected members for many months - but had not been answered. Mr Speedy appeared increasingly uncomfortable with the questions and in many cases did not have an explanation.

Council manager Meaghan Miller intervened at one stage when Councillor Bartlett asked why he was bening asked to vote today on next steps when no new information has been received.

Mrs Miller indicated that the consultants had not had enough time to do the work.

There were further questions about a workshop on the council HQ that had not happened and a request that when the public is finally consulted the questions are written by elected councillors, not staff, so the community knew that councillors were properly engaged in the process.

Councillor Lisa Guy, who's family company Rationale was paid by QLDC to write much the CBD masterplan documents, spoke up in support of the CBD HQ location arguing that Frankton was just as congested as the CBD, if not more so. She also wanted the discussion to be moved away from current traffic congestion issues and focus more on the future where bike and bus travel might somehow be more practical or attractive.

Councillor Bartlett then had about ten other questions which highlighted further weaknesses in the consultants work such as the Frankton (council owned) land options not being clearly identified or valued and other key questions simply being ignored.

During the public forum a representative of Remarkables Park added his voice to the debate asking for more options to be considered rather than just Frankton and the CBD.

Councillor Gladding brought the whole debate somewhat down to earth by making the point that the QLDC might not need or get a new HQ at all under a new council - regardless of the location.

The decision was to leave everything "on the table" for the next council after the October 2025 local elections. However, one problem that won't go away over time was hinted at by Mr Speedy and Mrs Miller - that of the large amount of time and money that's already been spent on the CBD project - Project Manawa - and the complex property deals and land swaps already engineered with Ngāi Tahu Property.