The Queenstown Lakes District Council could open itself up to the ''greatest legal challenge'' if it agrees to an Upper Clutha A and P Society building extension on reserve land, a lawyer has cautioned.
A council hearing in Wanaka yesterday considered the society's application for a 33-year lease to extend its building at the Wanaka Recreational Reserve - commonly known as the Wanaka Showgrounds - to 918sq m, an increase of 112% or 486sq m.
The new building would be used primarily for storage purposes and be a similar size to the society's former cricket-style pavilion which was destroyed in a 2006 storm.
Lawyer Jayne Macdonald, representing a group of neighbours objecting to the proposal, said the reserve did not yet have a management plan in place, as required under the Reserves Act.
The council needed to seek public input to prepare and approve a ''well overdue'' management plan before the society's application could be considered.
''I don't mean to be bullying but this leaves open the greatest legal challenge for the council,'' Mrs Macdonald said.
''Ad hoc development on the reserve in the absence of an integrated plan for the reserve as a whole, is not consistent with proper administration as required by the Act.''
Hearing panel member Cr Calum MacLeod said it was not unusual for a reserve to exist without a management plan.
However, Mrs Macdonald said the Wanaka Recreational Reserve in particular should be a priority for the council as the surrounding area had changed from rural to urban.
No real consideration had been given to off-site storage or using a temporary structure, such as a marquee, for additional covered space during the annual two-day Upper Clutha A and P show, Mrs Macdonald said.
The society's junior vice-president and building committee chairman Grant Ruddenklau said as the show grew, the society was acquiring more large equipment which needed to be stored on site.
Other options had been considered, but extending the building at either end was the most practical option with the least impact on the visual amenity of the reserve.
Hearing chairwoman Cr Ella Lawton asked if the extension would be sufficient long-term. Mr Ruddenklau assured her it would.
Lansdown St resident John Baynes rejected Mr Ruddenklau's claim the society had been ''sympathetic'' to residents. He said they had not been consulted before the application was made.
He considered the existing buildings were well-balanced with the size of the reserve and dismissed suggestions the extension was simply replacing one building with another.
''We're replacing a horse with a giraffe.''
