Coastguard Wanaka Lakes needs a new place to house its rescue boat and equipment as the current base at the Wanaka A&P Showgrounds has became inadequate.
It has asked the Queenstown Lakes District Council to grant a lease for a piece of land at Eely Point so the service could build a marine rescue centre to service the Wanaka area. The Wanaka Community Board yesterday
voted to defer notifying the request until an Eely Point Reserve master plan has been competed. There will be public consultation on the plan.
Council property adviser Dan Cruickshank, from APL Property, said deferring the request provided the council and the Wanaka community the chance to consider the reserve as a whole not just one isolated area.
Coastguard Wanaka Lakes president/secretary Jonathan Walmisley said while he was disappointed with the decision, he understood the reasons for the delay. It would be business as usual for the coastguard as they continued to operate out of the showgrounds.
One of the major reasons for the move was the time it took the coastguard to launch its rescue boat in the eastern area of Roys Bay. There could be a significant delay if they had to negotiate heavy traffic from the showgrounds at the other end of the town.
"With the lake getting busier and because the town is getting busier, the time it takes us to get on the lake is getting longer, so you could argue the earlier we get a base on the east side of Roys Bay the better," Mr Walmisley said.
The building itself would be 159sq m with a maximum height of 5.45m and would be clad in cedar and a sandstone grey-coloured steel.
To accommodate the building 18 exotic trees, a mixture of eucalyptus, sycamore and fir, would have to be removed. Native shrubs and trees would be planted around the site to screen the building.
