Unique heritage sites in the Wakatipu region that are falling into disrepair could be restored if a proposed heritage trust gets off the ground.
A report on the joint Queenstown Lakes District Council/Department of Conservation-administered trust was yesterday presented to the council strategy committee by senior policy analyst Sue Mavor.
Ms Mavor said Doc Wakatipu area manager Greg Lind approached QLDC chief executive Debra Lawson last December with the concept of a heritage trust, and they had since met several times.
"Greg came up with the idea of forming a not-for-profit heritage trust which would prioritise these sites and get on and get the funding so that these places remain in good condition and remain for the future," she said.
Modelled on the successful Wakatipu Trails Trust, the heritage trust would be eligible for funding from local community trusts and other funding bodies.
The trust would aim to prioritise and then restore or conserve historic sites in the district - some of which are falling into disrepair - for "preservation and celebration of the district's local heritage".
Ms Mavor said the limited funding available through Doc and the QLDC for the expensive task of restoration and conservation limited their ability to work on the sites, especially as many did not meet the Doc funding criterion of "being easily accessible to the public".
Queenstown and District Historical Society Committee chairman Bill Dolan said starting a trust to restore the district's historical sites would make unnecessary the establishment of separate heritage trusts, such as the one set up to restore the One Mile Power House, .
It was estimated the trust would cost $3000 to establish and $5000 to run each year.
Three of the possible sites to be conserved/restored were the Bullendale dynamo, mine and battery in Skippers Canyon; the buildings and gardens in Arrowtown's Chinese village; and Arranmore Barn on the Frankton Flats.
The committee moved to receive the report and councillors Mel Gazzard and Lyal Cocks have been assigned to a working party to report to the strategy committee on the proposal.
