Te Kararo Queenstown Gardens
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Our second newsletter detailing activities and developments in Te Kararo Queenstown Gardens was shared with stakeholders and the community on 14 November 2025. If you know groups or individuals who would like to sign up to receive the newsletter approximately twice a year, please subscribe below.
Te Kararo Queenstown Gardens Development Plan
Upgrades to Te Kararo Queenstown Gardens will be made through a multi-stage project to enhance connection to Queenstown's town centre and surrounds and to improve circulation within the grounds. Informal passive recreation qualities of Te Kararo Queenstown Gardens will be retained, with improvements made to public safety and wayfinding through upgrades to lighting, signage and pathways.
Culture, heritage and the place values of Lake Whakatipu and surrounding mountains will be weaved into the design.
Te Kararo Queenstown Gardens Conifer Succession Plan
Earlier this year Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) developed a tree succession plan for the gradual replacement of Douglas fir wilding conifers within the Gardens.
Around five hectares of aging wilding conifer trees are currently located within and around the Gardens. Although these conifers play a crucial role in acting as a windbreak to shield this public space from wild weather, the dense tree canopy blocks sunlight, suppresses understory growth and disrupts natural regeneration processes of native flora and fauna.
The succession plan details how we intend to manage the staged removal of wilding conifers and replant with native and suitable exotic trees and plants over the next 60 to 80 years. This will help restore biodiversity and ecology in the area, enhance how people use this space, and ensure it flourishes for future generations to enjoy.
We received 45 submissions during public engagement in April-May 2025, with 52% in support of the plan. Several changes have been made to the Plan in response to community feedback. You can read the final plan and engagement summary here. One key change is that trial planting sites will be established before any trees are removed, helping to demonstrate what the replacement plantings will look like ahead of future works.
Te Kararo Queenstown Gardens Conifer Succession Plan was adopted by elected members on Thursday 14 August 2025. QLDC will now enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Queenstown Gardens Stakeholders and Whakatipu Wilding Control Group (WCG) to record agreed high-level principles of the conifer succession plan.
Newsletters
An archive of newsletters sent about Te Kararo Queenstown Gardens can be found below.