Queenstown gondola and housing plan raises 'more questions than solutions' -councillor

The fast-track referral of a sprawling gondola and housing proposal - despite council warnings about missing details and limited benefit - is being described by a Queenstown councillor as a real disappointment.

Bowen Peak Ltd is planning to build two gondolas and a cable car extending up to Bowen Peak, along with two predator-free sanctuaries, viewing stations, hiking and biking trails, an outdoor education centre, and more than 1300 housing units across 175 large chalets in Fernhill.

Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop accepted the plan into the fast-track process last month after two failed applications from the company, owned by Australian surgeon Guy Hingston.

Queenstown Lakes district councillor Jon Mitchell said it was a plan that raised "more questions than solutions".

"Having a rational approach, actually planning for development in the district, is far more important than rushing in with proposals like this," he said.

Bowen Peak Ltd estimated the project could deliver $147 million in annual visitor spending and create 325 long-term jobs.

However, in comments on the referral application, the district council had warned the spending estimates could be overstated, because it implicitly assumed that most of the activity would be net new visitation to the district.

It said it could not confidently confirm the development would deliver significant regional or national benefits, and said the application lacked details, including a comprehensive assessment of natural hazards like landslides, rockfall, debris flows, seismic risk, and wildfire.

The site was likely prone to slope instability, and also outside existing service boundaries, requiring infrastructure upgrades which were not currently budgeted in its Long Term Plan, it said.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Papatipu Rūnaka were against the project proceeding, while Otago Regional Council warned it could generate over 1,350 additional daily trips on constrained road corridors.

There were a lot of issues that needed deep thought, Mitchell said.

"It's going to create more cost for our communities in future, more congestion on our roads without adequate central government funding to help mitigate those impacts," he said.

The council already had residential housing planned on much safer and more accessible land than the Bowen Peak proposal, he said.

"The feedback that we are giving - both as the planning department at the council, providing their analysis and expert opinions on aspects of proposals... and there have been a few where councillors have put their views as well - most of that doesn't seem to be being listened to," he said.

Bowen Peak Ltd was proposing to remove 400 hectares of wilding pines and "restore the area's pre-Pakeha ecological character" with species like kiwi, takahē and kākāpō.

It said there would be housing for at least 2,794 people, the equivalent of nearly ten percent of Queenstown's projected population growth until 2053.

In its application the company said half of the housing would be for key workers, and five percent for the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust.

Chief executive Julie Scott said the developers had approached the trust directly.

"Obviously we would be very happy with that....that reflects a recognition of our well-documented affordable housing challenges over the past however-many decades," she said.

The worker housing would need clear eligibility criteria, and retention mechanisms to make sure homes did not end up in the free market, she said.

"It's a pretty broad concept at this stage, but it's certainly one we look forward to being fleshed out," she said.

However, in its comments on the application, Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) said by the time the chalets were complete in 2053, the district would likely have a housing surplus.

"Any benefit is considered to be moderate rather than transformational," it said.

Consultation efforts questioned

In its comments on the application, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu told the minister the project should not enter the fast-track process, in part because of a lack of "meaningful consultation" with the developer.

"There have only been very preliminary levels of engagement to date and no meaningful consultation with either Papatipu Rūnaka or Te Rūnanga," it said.

QLDC described the company's engagement with its staff as "insufficient".

Bowen Peak Ltd had sought consultation with Council around the Christmas, New Year and early January period, which could not be accommodated, it said.

"The applicant has subsequently chosen to lodge its referral application with no meaningful formal consultation with QLDC," it said.

Fernhill and Sunshine Bay community group chair Simone Bray told RNZ the developer had not contacted residents.

The suburb already had one stalled development in its midst, so people wanted reassurance that Bowen Peak Ltd was doing its due diligence, she said.

"There's been nothing... it's not that hard to reach out to us," she said.

"I think anyone who's built a house on a marginal site before knows that so much money needs to go into the groundwork. And as an association, we're really concerned that it'll start off with all these grand plans, and then nothing will happen and it'll just be this big, ugly scar."

Bowen Peak Ltd did not respond to RNZ's requests for comment.

On its website, the company stated that it encouraged community feedback via email.

It planned to lodge a full fast-track application later in the year, it said.

"We remain hopeful that our plans will help many, many people into the future," it said.

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