The true size and scale of Ladies Mile development

Analysis.

An estimated population increase of 6,720. Up to 4,300 additional vehicles on our roads. Around 1.5 million litres increase in sewage per day.

These are projections calculated by academics scrutinising potential consequences of the Queenstown’s Ladies Mile housing development.

This development is equivalent to transplanting the combined populations of Balclutha and Arrowtown, give or take a few, to live on 160 hectares at the edge of a short section of State Highway 6.

Are we ready for this?

Community scepticism that Queenstown’s infrastructure has the capacity to accommodate the Ladies Mile housing development is nothing new. The vexed issue of traffic congestion is arguably the most inflammatory concern for residents, followed by Queenstown’s struggling sewage treatment capacity.

Even though current infrastructure shortcomings continue to make headlines it seems they provide insufficient incentive for reconsideration of what might be a dreadful mistake.

Again, last week, the national media covered two issues which Queenstown’s rapid population growth will inevitably exacerbate.