Fears about traffic jams and unrealised infrastructure have led to a 1250-house development proposal in Queenstown being knocked back on the fast-track. The Ridgeburn development proposes to bring the major development to Arrow Junction, near Arrowtown, along with a commercial village precinct with retail, hospitality, community services and office space. It has been promoted as a way of addressing the district’s housing crisis. But it has already proved controversial with certain groups, who believe it has a lack of infrastructure planning and a tendency towards urban sprawl. In a recently issued minute, fast-track approvals panels convener Jane Borthwick said it was not ready for the fast-track expert panel. She has asked the Queenstown Lakes District Council, the Otago Regional Council and the Department of Conservation to provide Ridgeburn with further information requests. Ridgeburn must reply by August 10. Until this information was assessed, it could not progress with the fast-track process. The district council has argued Ridgeburn belonged to a host of projects that “occur outside planned growth areas, rely on infrastructure that is not yet programmed or funded, or depend on future public transport provision and travel behaviour change assumptions”. Therefore, it required significantly more information than most fast-track projects in order to be successful. Nor was it “appropriate’’ to rely on the applicant’s “optimistic” public transport projections, QLDC said. NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi has also expressed concern about the proposal’s effects on traffic and has asked Ridgeburn to consider where the project would fit with other relevant fast-track proposals and approved developments affecting the State Highway 6/SH6A corridor. Both parties have asked Ridgeburn to prepare an integrated transport assessment, which would bring all the infrastructure and transport information together. Ms Borthwick’s minute approved this idea, saying it may “have an important bearing on the extent of the project’s benefits”. Ridgeburn must contribute “to the better understanding of not only how the development performs if everything goes perfectly, but also how it performs if those assumptions are not realised”, the correspondence from the district council and NZTA said. The regional council have asked Ridgeburn for more information on design and technical matters including wastewater disposal, groundwater, air discharge effects, ecology, wetlands, flood hazards, stormwater management, dust management and sediment controls. In response, Ridgeburn has said it would provide further information by August 10, but felt its substantive application did not have “genuine information gaps”. “In several instances, the matters raised reflect differences of professional opinion regarding the scope of assessment required, the adequacy of information already provided or broader strategic planning considerations,” a memorandum from Ridgeburn’s counsel said. Ridgeburn also argued the integrated transport assessment “seeks information that goes beyond what is reasonably necessary to assess the transport effects of the proposal”. Ridgeburn is one of several projects in Queenstown either applying for or going through the fast-track process. It has led to much consternation in the area, and the formation of groups such as the Queenstown Smart Growth Initiative.
