A farmer's land swap proposal which would improve public access to a popular lakeside recreation area will be considered by the Wanaka Community Board today.
Tim Burdon, of Mt Burke Station in the Maungawera Valley, wants to remove an unformed section of legal road that runs through the station parallel to the edge of Lake Wanaka, between the formed section of Maungawera Valley Rd and the property's eastern boundary.
A new road would in turn be vested in the Queenstown Lakes District Council between Maungawera Valley Rd near the base of Mt Brown and the marginal strip near the eastern boundary.
The proposal by Mt Burke Station Ltd, of which Mr Burdon is a shareholder and sole director, also suggests either a short length of new road or a Department of Conservation reserve be created between Maungawera Valley Rd and the marginal strip in an area known as Flax Paddock, to allow public lake access.
QLDC principal infrastructure planner Denis Mander has recommended the community board should approve the proposal.
Mt Burke Station adviser Peter Bosworth told the Otago Daily Times some families had camped at Flax Paddock for generations with the station's permission, but the proposed new road extension would provide much wider public access to the ''outstanding'' lakeside area.
''This is why it's such a huge bonus really, potentially, for the community. It's a very popular little area ... and it will just provide the most amazing community facility. There's a potential to put a boat launching ramp in there one day, maybe picnic and ... toilet amenities and whatever else.
''There's real pressure on the boat ramps in Wanaka over that Christmas-New Year-January period and this will provide potentially some really good relief for that.''
If the existing legal road was formed and opened to the public, it would interfere with the station's farming activities, Mr Bosworth said.
''It goes right through the middle of the sheep yards and cattle yards and wool shed and right across the front of their [lessee's] house, so that's hardly ideal really from either the public perspective or a farming perspective.''
The proposal was developed after discussions between Mr Bosworth, Clutha Fisheries Trust, Upper Clutha Anglers Clubs, Upper Clutha Tracks Trust, Otago Fish and Game and the council. Those groups indicated their support, he said.
The land leased by Mt Burke Station Ltd is owned by the Crown, represented by Land Information New Zealand. The proposal would need Linz approval.
The station first approached the QLDC several years ago seeking backing to relocate the road.
A tenure review process with Linz was then under way but this was halted by Linz in 2014 because of the lack of progress on the road proposal.
Mr Bosworth said the road stopping and vesting of new road would be largely at Mt Burke's expense, if there was any.
