Pupils, teachers and parishioners celebrate Queenstown’s St Joseph’s School’s 140th anniversary in 2023 outside St Joseph’s Church in central Queenstown. The burgeoning school roll has the Roman Catholic church and Catholic primary school evaluating fresher fields. PHOTO: RHYVA VAN ONSELEN Queenstown's Ladies Mile development, approved by the government, may include a Roman Catholic church and Catholic primary school. The Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Dunedin is the registered owner of a 2.3898ha rural site at 30 Lower Shotover Rd. Valued at $9.51million, the land was bought late last year from a party who had just settled on a Lower Shotover estate, including the spectacular Chantecler garden, for a record $45.5m. The land is at the edge of the 120ha Ladies Miles corridor that has been rezoned for massive residential and lesser commercial development. In 2023, a legal submission to the Ladies Mile variation stated St Joseph’s School, in central Queenstown, ‘‘now has difficulty meeting the needs of the Catholic community due to its size and location limitations’’. ‘‘In addition to the roll being near capacity due to size constraints, most families with young children are now not living in Queenstown town centre and instead are located in the southern and eastern corridors. ‘‘Travel from these areas into Queenstown town centre is becoming increasingly difficult.’’ The bishop confirmed the buy-up, ‘‘after several years of evaluation and negotiation’’. In a parish newsletter in February, it said ‘‘the land will be able to be used for educational and religious purposes’’. Queenstown’s St Joseph’s Church is also located beside St Joseph’s School. Diocese operations manager Paul Olsen said ‘‘we are going into a period of consultation with the parish and with the school community about what any development would look like’’. ‘‘We’re looking at this year to be completing that.’’ However, plans would also be subject to infrastructure, such as sewerage, going into Ladies Mile, he said. Mr Olsen noted the diocese paid ‘‘considerably more’’ for the site than its current valuation, adding it was ‘‘such a central location in terms of accessibility that it’s quite desirable’’. Back in 2015, the diocese abandoned plans for a $5m second campus for St Joseph’s School in rural Speargrass Flat Rd, despite winning a six-year legal battle with neighbours. Instead, it was to look at other options for a school, church and presbytery, such as Frankton’s Remarkables Park. Meanwhile, Ladies Mile is likely to include at least one other school after the Ministry of Education last year bought 439 Frankton-Ladies Mile Highway for a 2.7ha primary school. philip.chandler@alliedpress.co.nz
