The 830m road would run from Speargrass Flat Rd towards a wetland — known as the Mooney Road Basin — that feeds Lake Hayes, and where a new subdivision of between 15 and 73 "rural living allotments" is envisaged, but not yet consented.
The application for resource consent for the road was heard in Frankton yesterday by independent commissioners for the Queenstown Lakes District Council Robert Scott (chairman) and Jane Sinclair.
The applicants were MF35 Trustee Ltd, owned by Robin Williamson, of Auckland, and R & H Trust Co. Ltd, representing a group of Whanganui shareholders.
Construction of the 5.5m-5.7m wide, chipseal road, with 1m shoulders, would require 52,000sq m of earthworks.
The application attracted eight written submissions.
The neighbouring property to the east is owned by X-Ray Trust Ltd, and occupied by its two directors Nathan Branch and Brian Cartmell.
Their main objection was a loss of privacy for their property and the effect on the landscape.
Dougal McPherson submitted the rural Whakatipu basin was "slowly losing what remains of it’s rural character" and the new road would be a "major loss to the area’s rural charm".
"I will ... be looking directly at this ‘Trojan horse’ road from my residence."
M. and S. Dossor of Speargrass Flat Rd were concerned at an expected increase in traffic.
They noted consent had not been obtained for the suggested rural living allotments and therefore the "speculative, opportunistic" road could have no purpose "and be a road to nowhere which is contrary to the principles of sustainable management."
The Grimmond and O’Hagan Family Trusts, which operate a business nearby, asked the council to refuse the application for safety and rural amenity reasons.
They also submitted the applicants’ land could be accessed by existing roads.
Michael Sly, representing the Taramea Trust, submitted the extra traffic generated by the suggested development would create further risks for cyclists.
Mark Williams, for the Queenstown Trails Trust, which develops cycle trails, was neither for nor against the road and could see benefits for the public having better access to Mooney Basin.
Asked by Mr Scott how usual it was for consent to be sought for a road before a housing consent was sought, traffic engineer Andy Carr, giving evidence for the applicant, said he could think of only one example — that of Waterfall Park, near Arrowtown.
Also giving evidence for the applicant, hydrologist Dr Brian McGlynn said if his recommendations were followed, water quality measures associated with the roadworks could have "a significant positive impact" on the water in the Lake Hayes catchment.
The commissioners have reserved their decision.
