On the first day of a three-day resource consent hearing yesterday, lawyer Graeme Todd implored independent commissioners Robert Nixon and David Clarke to ignore the number of submissions opposed to the consent application - 741 of the 1042 submissions were opposed and 298 were in support - and focus instead on the calibre of the submissions.
Mr Todd said he was concerned there had been some ‘‘coercion'' during the submission period, and some submitters who opposed the facility may have done so based on incorrect information given by a Wanaka-Hawea Reserves Trust member. The trust opposes the proposal.
Statutory declarations provided to the Otago Daily Times by Mr Todd revealed three people were approached by a member of the trust who said ‘‘that not just one building was proposed but that seven or eight buildings were planned.''
Mr Todd said he was aware a significant proportion of the submissions opposing the proposal were based on the site's location, but the proximity of the facility to the lakefront was the most ‘‘logical'' option.
In response to questions from Mr Clarke about the process of selecting an appropriate site for the facility, Watersports Facility Trust deputy chairman Mick Hollyer said the trust had ‘‘made it very clear from the outset'' the facility would need to accommodate rowers, swimmers and kayakers, and it was these diverse needs which made the Roys Bay Recreation Reserve site most suitable.
Mr Hollyer said the southwestern end of the lake where the facility would be built was already favoured for non-motorised water activities, and a water-ski lane in the area had been removed by the harbour master.
Among the public submissions yesterday was one from watersports trustee Nic Blennerhassett who was a member of the Wanaka Rowing Club Committee from 2009-13. In her written evidence Ms Blennerhassett gave a detailed timeline of the club's efforts to find a suitable site for a new facility.
The club had looked at eight different sites from Glendhu Bay to Eely Point.
When asked why the current site had not been considered initially, Ms Blennerhassett said it had been hoped a less visible site would be found, and while the favoured site was ‘‘more visible'' than other options, it was the best site in every other aspect.
Resource management planner Duncan White said the application had changed following a recommendation from Queenstown Lakes District Council planner Sarah Picard that the application be refused because of the adverse visual effects of the building.
She said the changes included narrowing the building, additional landscaping and planting of taller trees.
Wanaka youth counsellor Rachel Cassaidy also spoke in support of the proposal.
She said young people in Wanaka were ‘‘very very much exposed to high use of alcohol and other drugs'' and the facility would be a ‘‘brilliant'' way to give them a sense of connection to the town.
The hearing continues today, when those opposed to the proposal will present their submissions to the commissioners.
