An Auckland landowner wanting to subdivide his 900ha holding on the shores of the Poolburn Dam looks to have a fight on his hands.
Jack Govind and the SSD Family Trust have applied to the Central Otago District Council to divide the land into two blocks and build a large house on each section.
However, 60 people from the surrounding area and further afield - with apologies from another 25 people - met last night at Poolburn to discuss their opposition to the project, which would result in about 7km or 8km of the dam's shoreline being fenced off with no fishing access available.
The land was made famous as The Plains of Rohan by filmmaker Peter Jackson in The Lord of the Rings and Poolburn resident Nick Loughnan, who first alerted people to the issue, said it even appeared as that on some maps now, with ‘‘Poolburn Dam'' in brackets.
Former landowner Sam McSkimming said he was to blame for the predicament the Poolburn residents found themselves in, as he sold the land in the first place to Jason Lopez the man who owned Olivers Restaurant and Bar when it went into receivership.
Mr Lopez had on-sold the land almost immediately to the present owner.
Mr Loughnan told the meeting he opposed the subdivision - especially the size of the houses one of which was more than 600sq m, including decking.
All those present at last night's meeting agreed they would send in submissions opposing the proposal to the council.
