Glenpanel Development Ltd (GDL) director Mark Tylden said his proposal for a 370-residential unit development at Flint’s Park near Ladies Mile in Frankton, Queenstown, which the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) rejected in December 2022, was back with the EPA due to what he perceived was a changed environment.
"The obvious need is even more obvious than when we first lodged our application, with housing shortages driving up costs further, and making it difficult to recruit and retain staff in Queenstown.
"The new government has the opportunity to provide solutions to our housing problems, and one part of the solution is Flint's Park."
The development would be offering "a range of housing at a range of budgets".
"We are committed to building houses for first-home buyers so we can help people who want to live and work in Queenstown get on the housing ladder. We have built housing similar to what we are proposing elsewhere."
The Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust has more than 1160 households on its waiting list for housing.
The median house price for the area is more than $1.6 million.
Mr Tylden said limited supply was pushing up house prices and pushing people out of the area.
"We run the risk of only providing homes for wealthy people who find they have to travel out of the area for services because service providers cannot afford to live here."
Trust chief executive Julie Scott said the trust supported development in the Queenstown Lakes which resulted in affordable housing.
"Increased supply at scale should assist in diminishing escalating property prices.
"This is particularly relevant in the Wakatipu Basin where there are very little entry-level sections available.
"We welcome development of the Ladies Mile, particularly where it aligns with Queenstown Lake District Council’s master plan and spatial plan for the area."
She said the trust also supported the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s inclusionary housing plan change variation, whereby 5% of sections created in new developments such as Flint’s Park would be transferred to the trust, through the council, and held in community ownership in perpetuity to provide affordable housing.
GDL’s proposal covered 15.49ha in Ladies Mile, Queenstown.
The application documents said just over half the site (8.48ha) falls within the Te Pūtahi-Ladies Mile master plan area and can deliver up to 384 dwellings through a combination of medium-density residential or higher-density mixed-use development around the historic Glenpanel Homestead.
"The main benefit is it will help to ease Queenstown’s housing crisis by providing a mix of homes including some rentals, some public-sector owned and some privately owned.
"Flint's Park will be a community by design, and we will be providing affordable housing by design," Mr Tylden said.
The application was initially rejected due to its "adverse landscape and visual effects", plus concerns over creating more traffic on Ladies Mile.
However, late last month, the EPA determined the application complied with the requirements set out in the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act.
The EPA has provided the application to the panel appointed to determine the application.
The application documents said GDL would stage the development.
"In responses to transport concerns, development beyond 180 residential dwelling units will not be able to proceed until the east-west collector road is in place."
