Council called ‘slack’ over consent process

Hawea Flat property owner Julian Haworth is upset  the Queenstown Lakes District council granted...
Hawea Flat property owner Julian Haworth is upset the Queenstown Lakes District council granted consent for a commercial water sports operation on the farm next door without notifying neighbours first. PHOTO: KERRIE WATERWORTH
A Hawea Flat man fears the granting of a consent for a wave machine on a neighbouring farm is the first step towards a full-scale commercial activity in the rural area.

He also accuses the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s planning department of "being slack" and "not doing its job" for granting the non-notified resource consent for a commercial facility in rural Upper Clutha.

The council granted consent for Ross McCarthy to operate a surf wave machine on his family’s 120ha Hawea Flat farm in March.

For 26 years, Julian Haworth has lived on a 0.5ha block which backs on to the McCarthy farm.

Mr Haworth said the first he heard of the surf wave facility was not from the council, but from Mr McCarthy, who came to his house to ask him to sign a form to say he would not object to the proposed development.

Mr Haworth said he declined to sign the form and the next thing he heard was that consent had been granted.

"The reason why I wanted it publicly notified was so the public could have a look at it, there may be nothing wrong with this development but you need to have conditions attached to it such as noise, visual effects and any matters of access."

A surf wave water sports facility was a non-farming activity, it would not be anticipated by the district plan and would normally have been publicly notified, he said.

"It is the council being slack, basically.

"They are shutting the public out of the right to have a say which they should have under the Resource Management Act and the district plan for a non-farming activity like this."

Council spokesman Sam White said the application was processed on a non-notified basis because it was considered the proposed activity would not have adverse effects on the environment that were more than minor.

"Whilst not anticipated within the rural zone, based on expert advice it is anticipated the proposed activity will comply with the permitted noise limits for the Rural Zone," Mr White said.

The proposal was assessed by a landscape architect who concluded the footprint of the facility would take up a very small part of the 20ha rural lot.

"Effects on the adjacent neighbours were also assessed and no persons were notified as the proposal includes 3m-high earth bunds that will predominantly screen the proposal from the view of the owners and occupiers of the adjacent sites, as well as reducing noise effects."

While there would be additional traffic on the road, given the level of visitors and traffic movements proposed, it was not considered the neighbours would be adversely affected, Mr White said.

Mr Haworth said it was "good" to see the council had taken specialist advice on noise levels and effects on landscape values.

However, traffic remained an issue and his main worry was the application was a first step in a "creeping process towards a full-scale commercial operation".

"The point about the rural area is under the Resource Management Act and the district plan you are supposed to have a degree of rural amenity of undisturbed enjoyment of the rural area; how is a giant wave machine consistent with that?" Mr Haworth said.

Mr McCarthy said his prime focus was to showcase his invention and sell units, not to have people through the door.

"We have patents on the machine and agents marketing it and are wanting to display it to the world, we are not setting up a huge big water park at this stage."

He said he was the fifth generation to live on that land, and the only way to make it productive was to come up with new ideas.

His development was within council regulations, and regarding a tree-planting programme he was undertaking, people would not know it was there, he said.

kerrie.waterworth@odt.co.nz

 

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