Opponents of a secondary retail centre had their own commercial self-interest at heart and were attempting to impose their will on the local community, prominent Wanaka property developer Allan Dippie said.
His claims came on the second day of a Queenstown Lakes District Council plan change hearing to determine whether a 100ha block of land on the outskirts of Wanaka will be rezoned, permitting the "Three Parks" retail, commercial, and residential development to proceed.
Mr Dippie's property development company, Willowridge Developments Ltd, is behind the Three Parks proposal, which the QLDC has stepped in to handle through a council plan change process.
The key contentious issue in the Three Parks plan change is whether Wanaka is ready for a secondary town retail centre, similar to Remarkables Park at Frankton, Queenstown.
Mr Dippie told Queenstown Lakes commissioners Gillian Macleod, of Queenstown, and Leigh Overton, of Wanaka, that Three Parks was not just about Wanaka, but was also about serving the smaller communities of the wider Upper Clutha, such as Hawea, Luggate, and Tarras.
"In terms of retail, it will mean new opportunities, more choices, more competition, and better prices.
"It will also mean much less reliance on travelling out of the district and it will allow our community to become more self-sufficient, more efficient, and more sustainable," he said.
Submissions from many opponents of the Three Parks plan change were characterised as being from trade competitors.
These included Willowridge's direct competitors in the property development market and their company directors, as well as commercial property owners and landowners from Wanaka's main retail area and Anderson Heights, Mr Dippie said.
Submissions against Three Parks contend that the development's retail centre - catering for "big box" retailers, such as The Warehouse - will kill off the resort's town centre next to the Wanaka lakefront.
Willowridge counsel Christian Whata, from Auckland legal firm Russell McVeagh, said that regard could not be given to trade competition or retail effects.
"The council must not act as a retail licensing authority... You are not empowered to protect rents."
Impending changes to the Resource Management Act by the National-led Government reinforced the point, Mr Whata said.
"Obvious out-of-town" interests were attempting to impose their will on the local community, but Wanaka; "is its own town, [has] its own catchment, and would make its own community decisions", Mr Dippie said.
Attention had been focused on the 12,000sq m retail area at Three Parks, but the development also included a significant residential component, transport links, and large reserves, he said.
Willowridge had entered into a stakeholders agreement with the QLDC to provide at least 140 affordable housing units at Three Parks.
Major infrastructure, such as arterial mains for sewage, stormwater, and pumping stations, had already been installed, and a "multimillion-dollar" roading network would help achieve some of the aims of the Wanaka transportation study.
Three large reserve areas were proposed for Three Parks.
They would be "non-negotiable" under the plan change, and comprised a green space alongside State Highway 84, designed to protect the main entrance corridor to Wanaka, a prominent hillock within the site which would become a lookout and walkway, and a small wetlands and trail network.
The QLDC was still deliberating about a site for sport fields and an events centre in Wanaka, which could be located at Three Parks, Mr Dippie said.
The commissioners adjourned the plan change hearing, which is scheduled to resume on Wednesday, September 23, and continue for three more days.
Three Parks hearing: Day two
> Submissions from Three Parks developer Allan Dippie and his Willowridge Ltd associates heard by Queenstown Lakes commissioners Gillian Macleod and Leigh Overton.
> Planning for for Three Parks has been continuing since 2003 and was begun by Mr Dippie after the Queenstown Lakes 2020 community workshops in 2002.
> Development will be done in a staged manner over a 20 to 25-year period at the 100ha site, opposite Mt Iron and bounded by State Highway 84 and Ballantyne Rd.
> The council plan change will rezone the Three Parks site to create seven "sub-zones" catering for a mix of residential, tourism, retail, and business activities.
> Mr Dippie's Willowridge Ltd company has developed residential subdivisions, such as Meadowstone and Westmeadows, in Wanaka, and Timsfield, in Lake Hawea, during the past 15 years, as well as subdivisions at Clyde and Cromwell.
> He has extensive business interests in landscaping, construction, and retail centres such as the Nichols Garden Group, across Otago.
> Quote of the day: "Three Parks will ignite a whole host of opportunities for local people. It will stimulate new business arrivals, start-ups, and translate to employment choices at all levels." - Allan Dippie.
