Significant amounts of asbestos-containing materials have been found at a high-profile development site in Queenstown.
It has led to the Queenstown Lakes District Council approving another $6.3million to clean up the historic contamination from the Lakeview site, where demolition began last July.
Council property director Richard Pope said the materials found in the former campground appeared to be from activity prior to 1970.
"There appears to be historic treatment of building materials where cabins and other campground buildings have previously been knocked down or altered, which has resulted in levels of ACM [asbestos-containing materials] far beyond what was planned for."
Mr Pope said stopping work was not an option because that would have voided the council’s agreements with developer partners, Melbourne developer Ninety Four Feet and Auckland investment firm Augusta Capital.
It would also have made the site unusable and deferred the clean-up burden to a point when it could be even more costly.
"Although it is additional budget, we know it’s the right thing to do for the environment and future generations to treat this contamination properly now."
