After four years of reports, debates and rejected housing proposals, a direction has finally been set for the development of the Ladies Mile.
Queenstown Lakes District councillors on Thursday agreed to begin work on a masterplan and district plan variation for the area, working in tandem to manage the development of the area over the next 30 years.
The planning work, estimated to cost between $1million and $1.4million, could be completed in a little over a year.
The question of the best way to guide urban development of the semi-rural land along the main arterial route into Queenstown, between Lake Hayes and the Shotover River, has dogged the council.
Citing concerns about traffic congestion and infrastructure, the previous council rejected three special housing area proposals last year, totalling more than 500 homes; another proposal for about 200 homes was turned down in 2016.
The only development approved to date is the Queenstown Country Club retirement village.
Last May, the council agreed a proactive approach to developing the area for housing was best, and commissioned consultants Rationale to flesh that out.
Rationale’s report backs that approach, claiming that even if the council did nothing, the area would likely be "substantially developed" in the next three to 10 years by landowners anyway.
It says the Ladies Mile has capacity for more than 2000 homes, which could result in about 6000 people living there.
It also says the Ministry of Education is investigating the potential for building a high school and a primary school in the area.
In her report for councillors, urban development senior policy planner Liz Simpson said developing the Ladies Mile was a "unique opportunity that comes with a number of significant challenges as well as great potential".
The main issues identified in consultation meetings with landowners and community groups in November were a lack of open spaces and sports fields, the sharing of homes by more than one household because of affordability issues, traffic congestion and the need for a better public transport network.
A workshop with five major landowners indicated they were "generally supportive" of the master plan and plan variation approach, but they had "concerns regarding embarking on a lengthy, protracted process", Ms Simpson said.
"It was made clear they are intending to develop their land holdings, and if the master plan and plan variation took too long, they would look to develop sooner."
Mayor Jim Boult said whatever the council decided, the NZ Transport Agency needed to "put some realistic proposals on the table" to enable future development.
The area’s residents were already dealing with road congestion, "let alone the people who might take up residence there in the future".
Cr John MacDonald said he supported a council-led approach to developing the area.
"It’s absolutely vital we don’t allow this to be developed willy-nilly with without a master plan.
"If we don’t do something here, we’ll be completely subject to developer outcomes."
