Plans to enable a high-rise corridor near downtown Queenstown have been revealed in greater detail.
Faced with a housing crisis, the Queenstown Lakes District Council resolved last month to propose its own special housing area (SHA) on Gorge Rd.
A new map issued by the council shows large areas of land the SHA will cover.
The council wants to make it easier for developers to build houses and apartments of up to six storeys. That will be a boon for Ngai Tahu Property, which has already expressed an interest in buying the Wakatipu High School site when it is vacated in 2018.
It declined to comment yesterday but the council map shows the school site - minus the playing fields - is part of the proposal.
On the opposite side of Gorge Rd, it takes in all the land from the Caltex corner down to and including Gorge Rd Retail Centre, next to Matakauri Park.
Cr Ella Lawton, the deputy portfolio leader for planning and development, said: ‘‘Gorge Rd would be an ideal place for higher density and, potentially, worker accommodation.
‘‘We've included conditions to ensure we get the type of housing we need, the type of accommodation that's lacking in Queenstown.'
'Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust executive officer Julie Scott said the changes could not come come soon enough.
Expressions of interest via the trust's website doubled in November and December compared with previous months.
‘‘It's pretty intense,'' Ms Scott said.‘‘More and more people are coming into town, and we're just not keeping up with supply.''The trust was established by the council eight years ago as an independent body.
Ms Scott adds, ‘‘I think it's great the council is taking a lead and stepping up.
‘‘SHAs are just one component of solving the housing affordability issue. ‘‘There's no silver bullet but this is one more mechanism.''
Other SHAs are proposed by developers on land they own.
The Gorge Rd SHA is different, coming direct from council and applying to multiple properties and landowners.
Public consultation is open until February 12.
-by Paul Taylor
