The subdivision of a high-profile Gibbston valley site looks set to proceed after a "somewhat unusual" Environment Court decision.
Gibbston Vines Ltd appealed to the Environment Court after Queenstown Lakes District Council commissioners turned down its proposal in February last year.
The appeal was heard last December by Judge John Hassan and commissioners Russell Howie and Glenice Paine, who in an interim decision this month said the company should be given an opportunity to make changes to address its "identified deficiencies".
The company, whose sole director is Queenstown businessman Graham Wilkinson, applied in 2017 to subdivide the 8.9ha block into six residential lots and a commercial lot.
The land, which adjoins the Gibbston highway (State Highway 6) and Gibbston Back Rd, is a derelict former vineyard, but surrounded by commercial vineyards on three sides.
In the decision, Judge Hassan said there was a potential conflict between residential development of the site and the viticultural activity around it, specifically the impact of noise from frost fans and bird-scaring devices.
There was also some uncertainty about the site's soil type and the proposal's impact on landscape character.
It was "somewhat unusual" to provide further opportunity to an applicant to modify a proposal following closing submissions, he said.
However, its deficiencies were "relatively discrete and appear potentially resolvable with proper professional input".
Mr Wilkinson told the Otago Daily Times he had informed the court he would take up the opportunity to modify the proposal.
His lawyers, a soil scientist and his landscaping consultant were working on the information requested by the court and he expected to provide it within the next few weeks.
The council and 10 related parties - all Gibbston residents - would be consulted.
However, he was not expecting difficulties because the court's "very specific findings and requests" would guide the process.
"Once we've made those changes to the court's satisfaction, then I'm anticipating a consent will be issued."
The interim decision was an "innovative and thoughtful" approach to resolving a lack of clarity in some of the proposal's detail, he said.
He anticipated the sections being priced between $550,000 and $700,000.
