A heated public hearing was held on Wednesday over a contentious proposal to create an easement along Youghal St, which would encroach on land currently designated as a recreational reserve for the Wānaka Golf Course.
The application, submitted by residents of 91, 93, and 99 Youghal St, seeks to realign and extend a private driveway by three metres into the reserve. The residents say the changes are necessary to fix a long-standing access issue caused by the previous owner, who constructed the driveway partly on the private property of 89 Youghal St and on land with inadequate stormwater drainage.
Quentin Smith, chairman of the hearing panel, acknowledged the complex history surrounding the driveway, which has evolved over years of missteps.
"It’s very complex, and it’s risen over a number of many years as a result of mistakes and errors of landowners, the council, and contractors," Mr Smith said during the hearing.
In addition to encroaching on private land, the original driveway altered the area’s natural stormwater runoff patterns. Drainage that once flowed through native channels was dug out and flattened, causing contaminated runoff to enter nearby Bullock Creek.
Friends of Bullock Creek, an environmental advocacy group, submitted a conditional opposition to the easement proposal. Spokesman Roger Gardiner expressed serious concerns about the environmental impact, particularly the lack of data regarding stormwater flow.
"Our concern is there’s been no analysis done to see how big the catchment is, what measurements there are regarding the volume of water flow, and how it will be treated so it doesn’t pollute Bullock Creek," Mr Gardiner said.
The Wānaka Golf Course, which leases the recreational reserve from the council, also lodged its opposition. Clubhouse manager Kim Badger said the club feared the easement could set a damaging precedent.
"We have a lot of neighbours who want to use our recreation reserve land for lots of things," Ms Badger said.
"We don’t want this to set a precedent for future encroachments on to recreation reserve land."
She also raised concerns about safety and liability, noting that cars parked in the newly aligned driveway could be at risk of being hit by stray golf balls.
Following a full day of submissions, the hearing was adjourned. The panel granted the applicants a right of reply, which is scheduled for August 27. A final decision is expected sometime after that date.
