Luggate residents are more than happy with the lack of progress being made on the building of a plant near the village to dry Wanaka's sewage sludge.
Thirteen months after being granted resource consent, and nine months after it said it expected to start building, Christchurch-based infrastructure and resources company Fulton Hogan has still not started work.
The plant, consisting mainly of a large glasshouse, would use the sun to dry sludge from the Queenstown Lakes District Council's Project Pure waste-water treatment plant.
Luggate Community Association chairman Steve Moss told the Otago Daily Times this week the majority of Luggate residents ''would be quite happy if it doesn't go ahead''.
Mr Moss said the main objection was the number of truckloads of sludge that would be carried from the council's Project Pure ''poo pond'', next to Wanaka Airport, across the Red Bridge to the Fulton Hogan site.
Fulton Hogan was granted resource consent for the WendeWolf solar drying plant in October last year and said then it aimed to start building in February.
It had a long list of conditions to meet in relation to the plant's operations, but did not regard any as exceptionally onerous.
The company tendered to build and operate the drying plant for the council, and it is understood it is waiting for the council to sign off on the deal.
Company regional manager Alan Peacock declined to comment this week on the reasons for the delay, citing a contractual confidentiality agreement.
Council general manager infrastructure Peter Hansby said the matter was still under negotiation, and he also had no comment.
Mr Moss said the Luggate community knew nothing about what was happening.
''We haven't been told anything.
''Everyone says `Oh well, when Fulton Hogan is ready to do it, they will do it'.''
During public consultation over Fulton Hogan's resource consent application to build the plant, 43 of 47 submissions were opposed, most of them from Luggate residents.
Each year, 950 tonnes of sludge ''cake'' is trucked from the Project Pure plant 70km to a landfill site at Victoria Flats to the east of the Gibbston valley, near Queenstown.
Residents there have been concerned about the smell, and are keen to see an end to the shipments of Wanaka sludge.
Gibbston Community Association secretary Trish Mackenzie said the landfill had been ''quite smelly'' over the winter.
While she was uncertain about what contribution Wanaka's sludge made to the smell, Ms Mackenzie said residents did not want it ''over here''.
''They've got their own stuff. They can keep it over there.''
