Rodeo club wants quick decision

The Wanaka Rodeo Club's intention to develop part of the 49ha Albert Town reserve received a favourable hearing from a Queenstown Lakes District Council hearings panel in Wanaka yesterday.

The club's plans to move its facilities from its Golf Course Rd site, which is being developed into a lifestyle village, and take up a 33-year lease over part of the reserve have been publicly known for more than a year.

The panel of Cr Leigh Overton and Wanaka Community Board members Ken Copland and Carrick Jones indicated yesterday they were satisfied with submissions regarding the rodeo and would be recommending the activity be included in the final reserve management plan to be approved by the full council next month.

The club was keen to get "all the boxes ticked" as soon as possible so it could run its annual event on January 2.

But it had to wait until a reserve management plan was drafted and notified for public submissions.

The club has made it clear it has to do some earthworks but does not want to cut into a closed landfill within the reserve, which would require further consents from the Otago Regional Council.

Lake Hawea farmer and cowboy Pat McCarthy, submitting as an individual, indicated any more delays could cause some anxiousness, as there was a lot of work to do in the next three months.

"I would like to emphasis again the urgency, the need to get cracking ... When can we get started?

"We've got the machines out there with the motors running," Mr McCarthy said.

Contractor Kevin Capell knew more than anyone else the location of the old landfill, as he had filled it in many years ago, and he would do the earthworks, Mr McCarthy said.

Club president Roger Moseby said the site had the least environmental and visual impact and was the best possible outcome, despite the landfill.

Mr Moseby explained the club was contractually bound to run its rodeo, as it was part of a national circuit.

If a prompt decision was not possible, the club would reluctantly move the event to Cromwell.

If a decision was forthcoming, the club would have just enough time to set up its portable arena and prepare the site for the public.

It would work on fully establishing the site afterwards, Mr Moseby said.

Club past president and New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association trustee Neil Gillespie, of Cromwell, supported the reserve management plan and suggested areas where minor amendments could clarify the lease and more clearly indicate the club's responsibilities regarding infrastructure.

A requirement to put in underground power cables was too harsh, when a generator could be used, Mr Gillespie said.

The reserve management plan did not indicate what the council's intentions for developing the campsite were, and the council and club needed to work out if and where costs could be shared, Mr Gillespie said.

The panel also heard submissions from the Albert Town Community Association and the Upper Clutha Tracks Trust regarding the maintenance of the reserve and roads.