The backers of a planned 24-hour, unmanned fuel station in Arrowtown say it will provide a much-needed service for residents and visitors.
However, a nearby resident says it will be a ''visual and environmental contamination''.
Such were the opposing views at a resource consent hearing in Queenstown yesterday to consider an application by RD Petroleum Ltd to build and operate the facility on a bare site on the corner of Wiltshire and Berkshire Sts.
Counsel for the applicant, Vanessa Robb, told hearings commissioner John Milligan the facility was not a typical petrol station as it would be unmanned and offer no goods and services other than petrol and diesel.
The council received 26 submissions in full support, with two more giving conditional support.
A submitter opposed, Grahame Warren, said his Wiltshire St home was only 30m from the site.
''If a petrol garage goes ahead, we will be losing our unique piece of paradise.
For the past seven years, since the last petrol station in the township had closed, residents had become used to buying fuel in Frankton or Queenstown during trips to supermarkets.
A series of consultants provided evidence on aspects of the application including its design, hazardous substance management, landscape and visual effects, traffic and noise.
Arrowtown landscape architect Mike Steven said the proposal would ''remedy an unkempt state of dereliction that has characterised the site for several decades''.
The hearing continues today.
