Fulton Hogan hoped to repurpose it’s Parkburn quarry as a residential development and outlined it’s plans at a consent hearing in Cromwell yesterday.
A panel of two independent commissioners Gary Rae and Rosalind Day-Cleavin, together with Central Otago District Councillor Ian Cooney, heard evidence this week on Plan Change 21, a private district plan change to land zoning sought by Fulton Hogan.
Fulton Hogan wants to convert its Parkburn quarry, which borders Pisa Moorings to the west, into 543 lots for residential settlement.
Yesterday the panel heard HWR, an Invercargill-based company, which operates a quarry to the north of the Fulton Hogan site, supported the plan change.
Bonisch Consultants planner Christine McMillan said HWR was also considering what to do at the end of its quarry’s life and intended to repurpose similarly.
To that end she requested the development not be ‘‘inwardly focused’’ and a connection with the site to the north be considered.
Ms McMillan said both quarries ultimately being residential would benefit both companies and be good use of high value lakeside land.Concerns about the logistics of the consent request were raised by both commissioner Rae, who pointed out that Fulton Hogan planned to move some of its Alexandra activity to the site and rezoning that space as residential would prevent that. While NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said when submissions were called for last year, among other things, there were concerns there were no provisions for public transport.
On Monday Abley Ltd director of transportation planning, Dave Smith, told the panel two commercial bus companies travelled past the site daily and that buses could easily be accommodated on roads in the proposed development.
Mr Smith said the Dunstan cycle trail also went past Parkburn. Cromwell was about 12kms away on the trail, which would perhaps deter most people from commuting daily, but a road connection with the adjoining Pisa Moorings would reduce short daily travel on the state highway.
Upgrades to the state highway bordering Parkburn should be undertaken before the site was at 50% capacity, Mr Smith said.
He also envisaged that installation of a single lane roundabout at the Pisa Moorings-State Highway 6 intersection or restricting right turns into the Parkburn development would be needed.
Additionally the relatively new roundabout at the intersection of SH6 and SH8B would need to be extended to dual lane, Mr Smith said.
Central Otago District Council consultant planner Liz White said the proposal was a way to rehabilitate an existing quarry at the end of its life which distinguished it slightly from proposals using productive land. While the Cromwell Spatial Plan focused on providing for additional demand in the existing town area rather than satellite developments, her decision on Parkburn was finely balanced but in favour of the proposed plan change.
The hearing finished yesterday. The commissioners asked Fulton Hogan counsel Phil Page to submit written closing statements within two to three weeks.
