The proposed Wakatipu Pak'n Save and Mitre 10 Mega were dealt a further blow yesterday when the High Court released judgements allowing appeals against the consents granted by the Environment Court last year.
The large-scale commercial developments would take up 4ha of a 42ha area of undeveloped rural-zoned flat land in Frankton and both were granted consents last year.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council appealed the Mitre 10 Mega consent, while Queenstown Central Ltd, which owns land on the Frankton Flats, appealed both. The decisions, released about 4pm yesterday, rule the appeals are allowed and sends the proposals back to the Environment Court.
The decisions come after appeals against the proposals were heard in the High Court at Queenstown in February, presided over by Justice John Fogarty.
Queenstown Lakes District Council notified, in 2007, plan change 19 (PC19), which sought to rezone the Frankton Flats and the interim decision on the plan change - released the same week as the High Court hearing - rejected a zone which would allow a supermarket and other activities, including industrial, trade and home improvement.
The Environment Court released its decisions on Pak'n Save in July and Mitre 10 Mega in September, well ahead of a different division of the Environment Court releasing the interim decision on PC19.
Interestingly, the result notes, ''In case there be any doubt, the application now requires re-evaluation against the current terms of PC19, as they have been amended by the February 2013 decision.''
This is despite the February decision being an interim one.
