As the trust told over 50 members of the community gathered at the Athenaeum Hall of the struggles local couples, families and elderly people faced in securing affordable housing, questions over why it needed to be in Suffolk St and assertions the land was worth much more than stated quickly arose.
The land, on which derelict rental cabins earmarked for removal in September now sit, was independently valued at $875,000 by APL Property but informally estimated to be worth $1.5 million by Colliers International.
The original location for the development was in Jopp St and one fierce opposer said, while he would be in full support of the affordable housing being built there, Suffolk St was too ''high profile''.
''Why do you have to be so hellbent on building it there? ... You can't build affordable housing on land that's so valuable.''
The Jopp St site had been identified as suitable for the development, but opposition quickly arose from neighbouring properties there as well and in the end the area was left out of the Arrowtown boundary and remains rural rather than residential.
The 10 houses, some of which will have two levels, are proposed to be rentals for a maximum of five years for people who are seeking to buy, the trust then helping those people buy homes.
However, some people at the meeting doubted there would be homes available to buy in Arrowtown in future and the development would thus have failed in its purpose, which is to keep families in the community.
What started out as a discussion about the need for affordable housing to keep people such as teachers and nurses in the resort degenerated into a heated argument over the benefits of public housing in such a location.
One barely audible comment was ''your public housing needs to be under the power lines'' and the trust was questioned about how well the renters would keep the houses' gardens, which would be visible from the street.
After an hour, Arrowtown ward councillor Lex Perkins stepped in to cool tempers, saying the evening had achieved ''good healthy debate'' and urged people to make submissions to the Queenstown Lakes District Council on the matter.
