The best use of Frankton Flats for all is the goal of the Queenstown Lakes District Council, the mayor says, in response to criticism the council is blocking big box retailers and the jobs and trade competition they could bring.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden was asked to respond to Shotover Park developer Alastair Porter's ''total loss to understand why the Queenstown council is continuing to use the community's money to oppose stores like Pak'n'Save and Mitre 10 Mega'', following the High Court dismissal on Friday of Shotover Park's appeal of a judge's plan change decision.
Ms Van Uden said yesterday she did not have a preconception of what the best outcome for Frankton Flats would be.
''While I'm not saying yes, it needs to be a supermarket and a Mitre 10, I'm not saying no, it's not either,'' she said.
The council has been talking with parties, including Mr Porter, to resolve Frankton Flats issues since before Christmas and up to as recently as late June, while the court process continues.
There was another set of discussions between landowners to resolve issues on Frankton Flats which the council did not attend.
The mayor said council legal activity had been as a respondent this year and it had not been involved in the latest High Court decision.
''The issues out there are really complex and, apart from the cost of fighting the thing for everybody, there are at stake some potentially significant monetary gains for the various landowners, because they get a higher level of development potentially allowed on their properties,'' Ms van Uden said.
''As our community we can all understand people are naturally going to try and get the best value out of what they have, we all do it, except council is there as the representative of the community trying to ensure that what goes on this piece of land is the best mix of land uses for the long-term future.
''We want to make sure we've got a good provision of the various different types of land use located across our community and Frankton Flats is a hugely important area of land as the entrance to Queenstown, so we really need to make that sure what we do there is a good outcome and that has been our focus as council.''
The council understood the positive economic and social impacts the two stores could have on the community, she said.
''We are trying to find a balanced outcome to the whole Frankton Flats plan change, not just a supermarket and Mitre 10 Mega, and think that's what we shouldn't lose sight of.
''We want to work constructively with all the parties and are endeavouring to do that on an ongoing basis.''
