First Queenstown Lakes Spatial Plan approved for district

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) elected members adopted the Queenstown Lakes Spatial Plan yesterday, the first to be prepared for the district.

The Grow Well Whaiora Partnership, a new Urban Growth Partnership between central government, Kāi Tahu and QLDC, has worked together over the past three years to develop a Spatial Plan for the district.

The Queenstown Lakes Spatial Plan sets out a vision and framework for how and where our district will grow, in this case out to 2050. It defines appropriate locations for future growth and how it is supported by the right infrastructure including ways of moving around, and access to schools, healthcare and other community facilities.

QLDC Chief Executive Officer Mike Theelen thanked the many community members, stakeholders and agencies who have taken the time to contribute to the development of this first plan over the past three years.

“The final Spatial Plan that was presented for adoption has been shaped by feedback from our community, input from local businesses and organisations, and through the close collaboration of the Grow Well Whaiora Partnership, with the goal of providing a shared vision for the future. This will also help all parties in the partnership to align planning and investment toward delivering on that vision,” Mr Theelen said.

Community engagement has played a key part in the process of shaping the plan from day one, with feedback from the recent consultation resulting in changes to the draft plan prior to yesterday’s Full Council meeting. Council received 147 submissions during the March-April consultation period, and 35 people chose to address a Hearings Panel at meetings held in Queenstown and Wānaka.

“The submissions were broad in scope with common themes around population and employment projections, climate change and growth patterns. All the recommended changes outlined in the report from the Hearings Panel Chair were incorporated into the final plan,” added Mr Theelen.

Key changes to the proposed Queenstown Lakes Spatial Plan considered by Councillors were as follows:

• Further clarity on climate change considerations across the five outcomes and the benefits of more compact urban form and mode shift to public transport.

• Added detail around expected population growth of the Upper Clutha versus Queenstown/Wakatipu Basin.

• Further information around the strategic importance of Frankton, the Five Mile corridor and the Queenstown to Frankton corridor for accommodating future growth in the Wakatipu Basin including key trade-offs between growth in these locations and airport operations.

• Priority development areas in the Upper Clutha to include Southern Wānaka as a future alternative for urban growth, instead of Hāwea.

• Added detail relating to dependency on public transport provision ahead of further growth of Lake Hāwea (beyond that provided for by the Proposed District Plan and Special Housing Area).

“The adoption of the Spatial Plan is a significant milestone for the district as it will provide a roadmap for the future, helping to ensure the best possible outcomes for residents, visitors and the environment. We look forward to continuing the next phase of work together with our Grow Well Whaiora partners as we start to deliver the programme of work identified in this final plan,” Mr Theelen said.

Going forward, the Spatial Plan will be reviewed on a three-year cycle except for the next plan cycle which will be completed within two years. This is to enable the Spatial Plan to inform the 2024 Ten Year Plan and 30 Year Infrastructure Strategy.

ENDS | KUA MUTU.

Media contact:
T: 03 441 1802
communications@qldc.govt.nz 

FURTHER INFORMATION | Kā pāroko tāpiri:

Whaiora in Te Reo Māori translates to ‘in the pursuit of wellness’; this is the very essence of what our Spatial Plan sets out to achieve and every priority action has been designed with the wellbeing of our people and environment in mind.

The agenda report and proposed final plan documents are available on the QLDC website here.

The Consultation Document, Schedule of Changes to the draft plan and supporting draft plan documents can be found on QLDC’s Let’s Talk page.

All submissions for the Queenstown Lakes Spatial Plan can be found on the QLDC website here.