Council rejects floating sauna plan

A company hoping to set up a floating sauna on a small Te Anau lake has had its dream sunk.

Yesterday, Floating Sauna Ltd’s bid to set up two saunas and a changing room atop a pontoon on Lake Henry was the subject of a council deliberation.

The project had drawn strong community feedback in recent months, 81% of a total 210 submitters objecting to a licence to occupy being issued.

During a lengthy deliberation, Southland district councillors worked their way through more than 20 key themes which had arisen from objections — fewer than half of which were backed by council staff.

But councillors reached consensus that many of the community’s concerns were valid, and ultimately declined the licence to occupy.

The decision was made despite the Fiordland Community Board recommending the licence be granted in February 2025, and a resource consent being secured in February 2026.

A public notice posted on the council’s Facebook page in late February also showed the organisation intended to grant the licence but was seeking submissions.

Some of the concerns captured in those submissions included an adverse effect on amenity, the environment and water quality, commercialisation and the perceived exclusion of the public.

Submissions in support included themes of providing an activity and economic opportunities.

The proposal from Floating Sauna Ltd was for three 9sq m structures to sit on a 79sq m pontoon which would then attach to an existing jetty.

According to Our Lakes Our Future, Lake Henry covers an area of 3.5ha and is 15.3m deep.

• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.