Ninety percent of people who have made submissions on the Queenstown Lakes District Council representation review want to keep an Arrowtown ward and councillor.
Former councillors, the Arrowtown Business Association, Arrowtown Village Association and nearly 200 Arrowtown residents have made submissions against the council proposal of forming an Arrowtown Community Board and discarding the councillor representative.
Of 230 submissions sent in to the council, 90% want the ward structure to remain the same, QLDC administrator Kelly Campbell said.
The Government's six-yearly review of council representation shows Arrowtown is just 200 residents short of having its own ward and representative, according to a 2006 census estimate, but submissions from residents both inside and outside Arrowtown mean a hearing will be required on June 7, at the Lake Hayes Pavilion.
Notable submissions had come from former Arrowtown Action Group chairman Jim Ryan, former QLDC councillor Taylor Reed, former Arrowtown council representative David Clarke and sitting councillor Lyal Cocks.
In his submission, Mr Clarke said he supported the retention of the ward and councillor as "having a strong voice around the council table is critical".
He said media releases from the council that claimed a community board would provide a voice for Arrowtown issues were "misleading".
"What is being proposed is further dilution of an important and necessary voice for the special character that makes Arrowtown."
Arrowtown Business Association chairman Adin May said in his submission the 2006 census figures were ill-fitting and should not be used by the council to form any decision.
"The association believes it is very important that Arrowtown retains this dedicated voice at the council table, which would be lost with the establishment of a community board."
Arrowtown resident and real estate agent Michael Tierney submitted the Arrowtown ward should be abolished and there was no need to establish a community board, as it would be a waste of money.
"I fail to believe how we need another level of bureaucracy in our relatively small town."
Mr Tierney said if Arrowtown continued to remain outside the rest of the Wakatipu community, it risked becoming "narrow minded".
"Arrowtown should vote as part of the wider Wakatipu community and become proactive in the issues that affect all of the area, rather than just promoting the needs of Arrowtown.
"A community board would have little support from the new Arrowtown resident.
"Council should take a bold step and create a single Wakatipu ward."
QLDC communications manager Meaghan Miller said the council had welcomed the submissions.
"They are hugely valuable.
"It's ignited debate about the Arrowtown community, particularly in the Arrowtown community, and gives us a wonderful set of data to base a decision around."
She said a full set of submissions would be on public display at the Arrowtown library by Wednesday.
Submissions would be heard on June 7 by a working party of local barrister Michael Parker, Janice Hughes, of Wanaka, and Darren Rewi, of Queenstown.
The three will each make a recommendation to the council for the June 26 full council meeting and councillors will then make a final decision.
The council is to make its decision by September.
