However, the new owner of Bridesdale Farm’s historic McBride Cottage and the 1100sqm of commercially-zoned land it sits on says the houses were granted consent in October.
Further, that site, and others retained by the original developer of the Special Housing Area (SHA), has always had a "non-objection covenant" over it.
Bridesdale resident Jeremy Payze told the Otago Daily Times he, his wife and their two young children moved into the subdivision — which adjoins Lake Hayes Estate — in June, having purchased their site at the opening.
His children had used the playground, built by Bridesdale Farm Developments Ltd (BDFL) before being vested with the Queenstown Lakes District Council on the 2360sq m of reserve land, close to the red cottage which will be restored and turned into a cafe.
"On numerous occasions at the playground we have discussed with other families how great it will be when we can come down for a drink at the cafe while keeping an eye on the kids at the playground," Mr Payze said.
Last week, however, he found out about BZ Developments’ plan to put houses between the cottage and the playground.
"It’s horrendous.
"There’s plenty of room to do a similar development on the other side of the cottage ... the way they’ve [designed it], they’ve cut off completely in between the cottage and the playground."
Mr Payze said the area would have made a "great little green space" for the community and proposed weekly markets.
"I don’t know if there’s much we can do ... we’re just trying to get awareness out there to kick up a fuss, really."
BZ Developments co-director Karen Castiglione said she and business partner Russell Hall purchased the site, including the cottage, in August from Speargrass Commercial Ltd (SCL). The directors of SCL are Michaela Meehan and Michael Tinker.
Mrs Meehan and her husband, Chris, are the directors of BDFL, which developed the SHA.
SCL received consent to build nine visitor accommodation units on the site last October, before the land was sold to BZD, Ms Castiglione said.
The initial consent was still live, but she and Mr Hall were "trying to make it less intensive".
They needed to use "all the square meterage of the site" and, unfortunately, the playground had been constructed about 2m off the boundary.
"We don’t want residents there to be unhappy, but we bought something that’s already consented, we love it, and think it’ll be a great addition to the community."
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It's fairly evident to me that the overriding values of the development company aren't in the best interests of the community, sustainability of the natural landscape or focused on maintaining the predetermined aesthetic value. As a resident, I too strongly protest to the Bridesdale Farm development undergoing changes driven by a unilateral process and commercial interests – where changes ought not to be. How can such a process lack transparency, and escape any form of awareness or consultation with the actual community who lives there and is most significantly impacted by this? Surprise! You now have four two-storey townhouses inserted into your tightly-designed little slice of residential utopia (between the Red Cottage Café and community playground) and that’ll go nicely with the new Tennis Academy we’re surreptitiously sneaking into your not-so-sacred now Special Housing Area. But, what’s most horrendous to me (and smacks of greed and arrogance), is for the very notion of Bridesdale Farm to be “sold” to prospective homeowners as a defined, unalterable living environment in the glossy brochure; and then for that very same notion to be deviated from and diminished.
[Continued from previous comment.] How can this happen? Who is standing up for the voice and interests of the people and families of Bridesdale Farm in all of this? What type of behaviour are we perpetuating where the unscrupulous, the undemocratic and the wealthy interests of the few shall rule the interests of the many at all costs? Interestingly, the glossy brochure has been removed from Bridesdale Farm Developments Limited’s website: http://bridesdalefarm.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Bridesdale-Farm-B... Perhaps the Bridesdale Farm philosophy (or Bridesdale Farm “pipe dream”) ought to be removed too because the integrity of any promise is in the keeping: http://bridesdalefarm.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Bridesdale-Farm-H...
It is happening everywhere. Developers have worked out how profitable SHA housing is because once approved, and the Govt has never turned one down, it can go ahead without objection. Land lots can be made smaller to accommodate the housing. It is a disgrace but these are the rules and the developers have worked out it is the most profitable way to develop a block of land. In Hawea we have 400 of these to deal with at sections down to 250sqm. Work out the quality of life and kiwi values this holds. And yes, the developer will not live there nor NZ I believe.