Queenstown Lakes District Council to permanently ban lakeside stalls

Food stalls will be banned from the Queenstown lakefront after the district council voted on measures to deal with public health concerns, litter and traders blocking footpaths.

The decision extends and expands a year-long trial ban that was only partly successful because of persistent breaches and resistance from some stallholders, according to council staff.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) monitoring showed there were often between six and 22 stalls on a 150m stretch of the lakefront despite a requirement for stalls to be 50m apart.

Traders were also a nuisance because of smells, litter and clutter, staff said.

All nine pop-up food stalls inspected by the council last year had issues with basic safety requirements, such as a lack of hand-washing facilities, poor temperature control and inadequate food storage.

During the last New Year's Eve celebrations, council staff said police were called after several traders showed "severe and unnecessary aggression" in refusing to vacate event zones.

Business leaders gave the council evidence of fat residue and oil stains damaging the street, while the Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce and Hospitality New Zealand argued that unregulated stalls were unfair competition for fixed-premise businesses.

Under the trial ban that began in April 2025, the council stopped issuing new permits but let existing traders run stalls until their permits expired.

Council staff said unlawful trading continued, including new operators with no permission to trade on the waterfront and existing traders who took no notice of the ban.

Stallholders push back

At a council meeting on Thursday several stallholders urged the council to rethink the ban.

Oyster stallholder Poppy Prentice said it would have a significant impact on traders.

"Some of the current rules, like the 50m spacing and moving around every hour, are simply not workable in practice. This isn't about refusing to follow rules. We're asking for practical, fair ones that can realistically be met," she said.

"We're also prepared to pay fair market value and an appropriate permit fee. We want to operate within a system that is fair, transparent and sustainable for everyone."

Long-serving restaurateur and food-stall operator Graeme McCarthy said food carts had been part of the town for decades and the ban was unjust.

His said his food cart was promoted on YouTube and TikTok to well over one million subscribers.

"They come to Queenstown because they see the beautiful scenery behind our cart," he said.

"Food vendors do create jobs in Queenstown and spend money locally. Removal of waterfront vendors just adds to this increasing commercialisation and loss of local character in the town," he said.

Councillors all in favour of ban

Councillors unanimously supported the ban.

Heath Copland said while he enjoyed the vibe that the stallholders brought to the lakefront, he backed the council staff.

"I like the entrepreneurial spirit they bring. That notwithstanding though, I do have to trust the staff here," he said.

Councillor Samuel "Q" Belk said some businesses were paying rates, insurance and other charges to operate on the waterfront while pop-up vendors were not.

"I think we need to look at the equity between the two business models," he said.

Councillor Niki Gladding said she supported the ban as a way to "solve a problem that has not been solved by any other means" but the council should take some ownership of the problem and work towards a better long-term solution.

"The issues down there are not going away. This does temporarily relieve us of them. We have the review of the [activities in public places] bylaw coming up, which I think we know needs to be looked at," she said.

The new measures extend the temporary ban beyond the lakefront and into nearby streets, as well as prolonging it.

They take effect on 17 April and will remain in place until the next formal review of the activities in public places bylaw, which was scheduled for July.

The number of valid registrations for the lakefront was falling, with only nine traders set to be operating there by next month, council staff said.

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