An application for a rural subdivision at Hawea Flat has been withdrawn by a Wanaka property development company.
Camphill Ltd - a company with five Wanaka-based directors Robin Paterson, Stephen Dickey, Peter Joyce, John Ruddenklau, and Stephen Winter - withdrew its resource consent application for the proposed third stage of its Camphill Estates subdivision last week.
Mr Paterson declined to comment on why the subdivision application had been withdrawn when contacted by the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
The proposal was widely opposed by Hawea Flat residents, who questioned the need for more residential sections in the predominantly rural area.
Camphill Ltd already had been granted resource consent to develop a 22ha site west of Kane Rd and opposite the Hawea Flat Primary School into nine large rural lifestyle sections.
The developers sought to increase the number of on-site allotments to 31 rural lifestyle sections, but a commissioners' report from Queenstown Lakes District Council planning and regulatory authority Lakes Environmental recommended the resource consent application be refused.
Camphill Ltd's proposal for 31 lots of about 400sq m contravenes the QLDC's district plan regulations ,which stipulate "rural lifestyle" lots must be a minimum size of 1000sq m.
The report also raised concerns about the adverse effects the subdivision would have in regard to an increased water take and the potential effects it would have on water bores supplying neighbouring properties.
The Lakes Environmental planner's report concluded the proposal was assessed as non-complying activity due to a breach in minimum and average allotment size.
Lakes Evironmental's principal Wanaka planner, Christian Martin, said Camphill Ltd had withdrawn its resource consent application shortly after the planner's report was sent out to submitters and affected parties.
The applicant had not given any reasons for dropping the proposal.
