In July, at a Wanaka Chamber of Commerce event, Christchurch International Airport Ltd (CIAL) Central Otago airport project director Rhys Boswell said the company was reluctant to host a town hall-style meeting with the public.
"We made the decision early on after the first session that a town hall-style meeting is not especially productive."
However, there will be drop-in sessions in Tarras, Cromwell and Wanaka next week.
The project was now three years into its data-gathering phase, and Christchurch Airport would consider beginning the approvals process "possibly as soon as the start of next year", Mr Boswell said.
The airport company is 75% owned by the Christchurch City Council under Christchurch City Holdings Ltd and the balance by the Crown.
In July 2020, it was reported the company had been buying up hundreds of hectares of farmland in Tarras with the intention to build an international airport at the site.
There was one exception
— Tarras farmer Phillip Parcell said he would not sell his 40ha to the company as he did not need the money and was attached to the land where he was born.
However, at the end of May, CIAL chief strategy and stakeholder officer Michael Singleton said the company had bought Mr Parcell’s property, next to the 750ha of land at the intersections of State Highway 8 and 8A it already owned.
Sustainable Tarras, a group whose members neighbour the site of the proposed airport, had been collecting signatures to petition Parliament to prevent the airport going ahead.
Drop-in sessions(2pm-7pm)
Aug 29: Tarras Community Hall
Aug 30: Cromwell Presbyterian Hall
Aug 31: Edgewater Resort, Wānaka
