Plan still mired in litigation

Not much work on the endlessly contested Frankton Flats plan change can be done by the Queenstown Lakes District Council while the verdicts of two High Court appeals are yet to be heard.

This was the summing-up yesterday, when the council's strategy committee officially received the interim decision of the Environment Court on plan change 19, dated February 12.

Council policy and planning general manager Philip Pannett told councillors the agenda item attempted to digest the 300-page decision and outlined the work needed before the plan could become operative.

The decision established the structure plan for the zone and the council's objectives and policies were adopted for the most part, with changes to do with infrastructure and and transport.

Mr Pannett said the court put the council back in the lead role, which was not surprising, as it was a council plan change.

High Court appeals against the interim decision, by Shotover Park Ltd and Foodstuffs South Island Ltd, which operates Pak'n Save, were still to be heard.

''The question to the court is, given those appeals, what do you now expect?'' Mr Pannett said.

Council staff may be able to work on the plan as it related to large lot size industrial activities, but not the light industrial showroom retail activities proposed by Shotover Park without the security of a court verdict.

''While it's frustrating, it's the nature,'' Mr Pannett said.

The council was required to review the decision, confer with parties and file a reporting memorandum by April 5.

In reply to questions from councillors about how long Frankton Flats had been embroiled in litigation, Mr Pannett said plan change 19 was publicly notified in 2007.

However, the council was first approached by a then landowner to rezone part of the flats 20 years ago.

The consulted parties, submissions, variations, appeals and hearings had all been swept up into plan change 19 ''and we still wait'', Mr Pannett said.