The Northbrook Wanaka Retirement Village project was developed by Winton Property Ltd and would be constructed on a vacant residential section alongside Outlet Rd at the northern end of the Northlake subdivision.
It is expected to create 770 jobs during the peak construction year and then 41 jobs a year.
Additional facilities will include a private hospital, a cafe, gym, swimming pool, and community centre.
The decision came 100 working days after the application was lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority under the Government’s Covid-19 fast-track consenting process.
An economic assessment of the proposed retirement village found it was expected to contribute $133million to business activity within the district during the first five years and an additional $9million in gross domestic product and 145 jobs over a 15-year period at a regional level.
An expert consenting panel granted the resource consents subject to conditions.
In its decision, the panel made up of Matthew Allan, Hoani Langsbury and Ian Munro expressly recorded that its decision was reached by a very narrow margin, because of what it said were inconsistencies with several important objective and policy provisions.
The panel strongly objected to the height of a three-storey ‘‘care pod’’ and made a condition of the consent that it be reduced by one storey.
‘‘We find that the care pod would be one of the largest buildings within Wanaka, located in a position where it would strikingly stand out of place to all that viewed it,’’ the panel said.
A condition of the consent now required the removal of the care pod’s top storey.
Another issue addressed by the panel was access to Sticky Forest.
While the panel did not impose any changes to Winton Property Ltd’s volunteered condition of a potential private plan change which could allow road access to the forest it expressly stated the conditions should not prevent other possibilities from being explored.
The panel said it accepted the proposal would have a range of positive social and economic effects and would contribute to the district’s economic wellbeing and recovery.
‘‘In short, the application identifies positive effects through the increase in dwelling units for an increasing elderly population, and the creation of jobs during both the construction and operational phases.’’
