Hawea residents opposed to a 16m cell phone tower earmarked for the town centre are delighted the company building the tower has decided to reconsider its location.
However, they do not know where it will now be built.
Following a hearing last August, Spark was granted consent for the 16m tower to be built on the edge of Peter Fraser Park, with some conditions imposed.
The Hawea Community Association lodged an appeal in the Environment Court, with support on a pro-bono basis from Todd & Walker Law lawyer Graeme Todd.
On Monday Mr Todd revealed Spark had surrendered its consent and found an alternative site out of town.
David Gwynne Jones, who owns a house in Capell Ave 50m from the original proposed site, said it was "great news" but he remained concerned Spark would not confirm the new rural location.
At the August hearing he said he was concerned about the visual impact of the tower and the long term effects of exposure to radio frequency radiation.
Former Hawea Community Association chairwoman April Mackenzie had been involved in the preliminary discussions with Spark, the hearing and the appeal and said it was "a great win for the community" and "very satisfying".
However, she was saddened "that a little community has to fight these fights with big corporates or with its own council".
She said because the Queenstown Lakes District council planner had supported the resource consent application by Spark, "it felt like the council had little to no regard for the look and feel of the town, the visual impact the tower would have had, and the community’s clearly articulated view".
Mr Todd described it as a David-and-Goliath situation.
"These are the types of cases we love to be involved in representing the little guy."
Spark corporate relations partner Arwen Vant said the decision to stop the Capell Ave build was down to the lease for the existing rural Spark tower on Lake Hawea station coming to an end.
"When we put in our application for the Hawea township site, we did so in good faith as it was the best solution to provide mobile coverage for Hawea at the time.
"However, with the termination of the existing rural Hawea site lease, we have reassessed how best to provide coverage for Hawea and we have identified an alternative approach that will not require the Hawea township site," she said.
Spark could not give the exact location of the proposed new rural cell site as the company was still in negotiations with the landowner, she said.
