A Wanaka landowner told a hearings panel this week he had been waiting 15 years to address an Environment Court decision that placed what he says are tough restrictions on what can be done with the land he owns.
Hawthenden Ltd, owned by brothers Owen and Eric Hopgood, have made two submissions to the Queenstown Lakes District proposed district plan that could add up to 70 more sections to the western edge of the Wanaka township.
The brothers have owned the 229ha Hawthenden farm at the base of the Alpha Range since buying it off the Studholme family in 1994.
Commissioners Calum MacLeod, Ian Munro and Trevor Robinson heard evidence on the submission on Wednesday. One submission asked for an outstanding natural landscape (ONL) line that runs through the farm’s upper terrace to be realigned further up the side of the Mt Alpha range.
Set during a 2002 Environment Court hearing, the ONL line protects an alluvial fan, known as the Alpha Fan, from development. It is visible from the Wanaka township and other landmarks such as Mt Iron and the Wanaka War Memorial.
Eric Hopgood told the commissioners that when the ONL line was proposed the company was never consulted and no-one from the council visited the farm.
"We’ve been waiting 15 years to stand in front of something like this and have our say on this."
Farming operations such as fencing were affected by the line, as it created uncertainty as to what was permitted and where, Mr Hopgood said. If the line was to remain unchanged it would also curb any type of residential development on part of the farm.
There had already been several approaches from developers interested in creating lifestyle blocks on the property, he said.
The other submission would re-zone the parts of the lower terrace of the farm closest to the township from rural to rural residential and rural lifestyle, allowing up to 70 new sections to be developed.
Any development would still need to go through the usual consent process.
As the farm was located only about 1km from the town centre, it was already surrounded by residential development, Mr Hopgood said.
"The town came to us, not the other way around."
In their evidence, both landscape architect Helen Mellsop and geologist Stephen Leary told the commissioners the landscape value and geology of the area meant the line should be moved higher up the Alpha Range, above the farm’s upper terrace.
In her evidence for the council, landscape architect Helen Mellsop agreed with the current placement of the line. Hearings on stage one of the PDP are expected to continue until late 2017.
