Hotel consent refusal to be appealed

Auckland’s Safari Group has applied for a resource consent for this five-storey hotel and...
Auckland’s Safari Group has applied for a resource consent for this five-storey hotel and apartment building in Queenstown. Image: supplied

The company which wants to build a $45 million hotel near Queenstown's CBD will appeal a decision declining resource consent to the Environment Court.

Commissioners Dr Lee Beattie and Jane Sinclair refused consent to Frankton Trading Trustee Company Ltd - linked to hotel developer Safari Group - to construct and operate a Ramada Hotel on a vacant site on Frankton Rd, opposite the Millennium and Copthorne hotels.

The proposal was for a 131-room hotel, two residential apartments, a restaurant and conference rooms, along with an on-site car park for, initially, 45 vehicles, 11 contained in an underground car park "stacker'' and a bus parking/loading area.

After a hearing in December, the company submitted a revised parking plan, reducing car parks by one to create a "pick up'' space for departing guests.

A bus pick-up and drop-off facility in front of the site on Stanley St was also mooted but that was not supported by the council.

Stantec principal transport engineer Mike Smith, for the Queenstown Lakes District Council, was concerned on-street bus parking could affect Queenstown's public bus service operations and possibly block sight lines, resulting in conflicts with pedestrians and vehicles.

He maintained earlier concerns, raised at the hearing, relating to the design of the car park and possible safety effects.

Mr Smith believed the aisle width was too narrow and, with parallel parking on both sides, it would not provide an "acceptable design'' for car parking and bus movements.

Buses would have to perform a "reverse manoeuvre'' to access the bus park in an area also used for vehicle pick-ups.

That meant people would be standing around a tour bus while passengers and luggage were being loaded or unloaded, possibly at the same time as cars were being picked up

The commissioners found, overall, there were "some limited'' urban design effects which were more than minor, but could be remedied through conditions.

However, they found an "unsuitable'' and "unsafe'' car park could not be mitigated or remedied

Safari Group director Robert Neil said the company would "continue on'' and was preparing an appeal.

"Am I upset about it? Yeah ... I'm really annoyed about it, but it's a process now and we'll go through the paths as required.

"We aren't stopping ... the question is how do we get from A to B?

"How can we get from where we are today, to, come the first of May, I can be starting construction, which is what my programme is?''

Mr Neil said Safari Group had already constructed a Ramada Hotel and Suites complex at Remarkables Park, a Wyndham Hotel was under construction, also at Remarkables Park, and construction of a third hotel was planned to begin in the Wakatipu in October.

"We're here to supply and I've got to work with the [council] - there's a process to go through, but the reality of it is we're going to continue on,'' Mr Neil said.

tracey.roxburgh@odt.co.nz


 

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