An application to subdivide more than 900ha into two lots on the eastern shores of the Poolburn reservoir at the head of the Ida Valley - which has an outstanding landscape designation - is not the first stage of a wider development plan, the landowner says.
The Central Otago District Council (CODC) has received an application from Jagdish (Jack) and Jasu Govind, and a group of four other Auckland developers under the name of the SSD Trustee Company Ltd, seeking to subdivide the property into two lots - 425ha and 486ha.
Contacted in Auckland yesterday, Mr Govind told the Otago Daily Times he would not be subdividing further and referred further comment to DTZ property manager Phil Murray, in Alexandra.
Mr Murray said there was no intention to subdivide the land any further. ‘‘My client [Mr Govind] has bought the land for his family.
‘‘He is prepared to spend $50,000-$60,000 on regenerating the copper tussock and helping return nutrients to the land, which had been mined for the past 100 years,'' he said.
The property is within the Rural Resource Area and the subdivision of the land and the erection of buildings are discretionary activities.
The smaller lot contains an existing fisherman's cottage and 3.6km fronts the Poolburn reservoir.
The applicant proposes to dismantle the hut and replace it with a new holiday residence in keeping with the surrounding landscape.
Lot two has no buildings but the applicant is seeking consent to build a second property on that land.
Access to the block is via Dunstan Rd, which is passable only in late spring, summer and autumn.
The first building would have a floor area of 282sq m and a deck area of 324sq m, giving a total of 606sq m. The maximum height would be 6.6m.
The building on lot two would have 312sq m of floor area.
At its meeting last week in Clyde, Fish and Game Council members were told by Fish and Game policy analyst Dr John Hollows that there were some positives with the protection of the spawning stream Cranky Woman Creek, but they still needed to look at public access issues, and decide on its vision for high country lakes such Poolburn and Manorburn and Lake Onslow.
He had fielded calls about the possibility of a commercial hunting lodge being built on the site as the building planned was so large.
‘‘There has been a lot of talk on the street and some of it is not quite accurate,'' Dr Hollows said.
Mr Govind, who is wheelchair bound, said he loved the place and the large deck space was so he could take advantage of the views from many angles.
Dr Hollows said Mr Govind's consultant said they planned to fence the property and lock the gates for security.
He had assured him that vandalism did not occur in those remote places and communities looked after each other.
Mr Govind planned to get rid of all stock within three years and would plant out copper tussocks and other native plants.
Dr Hollows said that was a positive. When all the tussocks had grown up, plenty of cicadas would breed underneath and that would be great for the fishery.
Cr Dave Witherow was not happy with what he called ‘‘the yuppification‘‘ of the area. "They are bastardising the landscape'', he said.
Cr Niall Watson said submissions on the proposal had been extended for another two weeks and would close on May 14.
Dr Hollows would meet a representative on site today to discuss public access and the future of Cranky Woman Creek for spawning.
