The giant hole beside State Highway 6 which since 2006 has welcomed visitors to Queenstown could be filled in, requiring a massive 85,500cu m of material.
Redwood Group Ltd manages the Frankton Flats land owned by Queenstown Gateway Ltd - which has consent for the $125 million Five Mile retail complex - and the excavated hole was inherited from previous owner Dave Henderson's failed development.
The planned retail complex would include a Countdown supermarket as an anchor tenant.
Redwood Group Ltd applied for resource consent from the Queenstown Lakes District Council to use stockpiled earth ''to backfill the excavated area which lies across the subject site,'' the resource application from last month said.
''The volume of earthworks required is approximately 85,500cu m to fill the existing excavated area.''
The application said the proposed work would ''reinstate the natural landform to appear as it was before the original excavation works were undertaken''.
The stockpiled material would come from a neighbouring site.
The site where the retail complex would be constructed is beside land owned by Shotover Park Ltd, which could have a Pak'n Save supermarket and Mitre 10 Mega.
Following an Environment Court hearing last year, consent for both projects was granted but appeals against the consents were allowed after a High Court hearing in February.
In April, the threat of a judicial review instigated by Shotover Park Ltd against the consent for the Five Mile development was withdrawn after an agreement was reached by all parties - including Shotover Park Ltd, Queenstown Lakes District Council and Queenstown Gateway Ltd.
