The Upper Clutha Environmental Society is on a membership drive, as it begins focusing its efforts on the Queenstown Lakes District Plan review.
In a report to the society's annual meeting last week, president Julian Haworth said submitting on the review would form an important part of the group's future work and more members were needed to help its voice be heard.
''The society will use its 18 years of experience to actively submit on the district plan. This may be the main focus of the society over the next couple of years. We need members to join to give us credibility.''
Mr Haworth said the society was the only active community group across the entire Queenstown Lakes district with the knowledge to put forward the ''disinterested non-developer/non-landowner point of view'' in the review process, in the same way it had done for nearly two decades on resource consent applications in the rural general zone.
The society, which has 23 members, had a successful past 12 months, despite Mr Haworth being overseas for half the year, he said.
Positive outcomes had been achieved following several society submissions or appeals against high-profile developments, including Damper Bay Ltd and Sharpridge Trust's applications for houses on the shores of Lake Wanaka, and Mount Cardrona Station Ltd's proposed ski-lodge in the Cardrona Ski Area sub zone.
The society also partially opposed Corbridge Estate's application to create 35 residential lots between Wanaka Airport and the Clutha River, and is awaiting the outcome.
A three-lot subdivision at Dublin Bay which the society submitted against was granted consent in April and was ''another needless encroachment into outstanding natural landscape'', Mr Haworth said.
The society's committee remains unchanged, apart from the loss of John Turnbull, who died last year. Mr Haworth continues as president, Dennis Schwarz as secretary, Mark Ayre as treasurer and Gillian Pugh, John Wellington and Geoff Blackler as committee members.
Mr Haworth said Queenstown Lakes deputy mayor Lyal Cocks had attended last week's annual meeting and was ''very complimentary'' towards the society.
