The New Zealand Fire Service wants to move its Frankton operation to a bigger site, potentially as part of a Queenstown emergency services hub.
The service's Central-North Otago area manager Keith McIntosh told district plan review commissioners in the resort yesterday the station in Douglas St was "far too small'' for its needs.
The Frankton brigade's strength had grown to 24 volunteers, and it was one of the busiest single-pump volunteer stations in the region with 172 call-outs last year.
Built 40 years ago on a 1077sq m site, the station would need replacing in the "medium term'' to meet the increasing demands caused by rapid development in Frankton and Queenstown as a whole, Mr McIntosh said.
"Without adequate redevelopment of the Frankton station, the ability for the New Zealand Fire Service to efficiently and effectively respond may be compromised.''
Mr McIntosh, who made the comments while presenting a submission on the Queenstown Lakes District Council's proposed district plan, said a new station in Frankton was likely to become the Fire Service's base for all of Queenstown.
It could form part of an emergency services hub including, for example, the council's emergency operations centre, he said.
The Fire Service was looking for suitable land, but needed up to 5000sq m.
It could not move too far from its current site, which was ideally located in the middle of Frankton's "extremities'' of Lake Hayes Estate, Jack's Point and Kelvin Heights, Mr McIntosh said.
"We're actually not in a bad spot right now, but it's very difficult to acquire land around there,'' Mr McIntosh said.
