Frustration over Wanaka hotel consent process

By Marjorie Cook

A developer has questioned public notification for his proposed 143-room hotel complex, with retail spaces and residential units in Wanaka’s town centre.

Wanaka Central JV Ltd developer Tony Gapes is struggling to understand why a Queenstown Lakes District Council planner decided his Ardmore St hotel, retail and apartment development should be publicly notified, correspondence with the council shows.

Mr Gapes claimed in a series of emails, between himself and council planner Louis Brown, last month, the council had not been willing to work with his planning team to make the main street development a reality.

The developer applied for consent 12 months ago for the complex consisting of a 143-room hotel, five retail spaces, seven food and beverage outlets and 56 residential units to be located in the town centre zone, next to other commercial buildings.

The site is a large, irregular-shaped vacant block of five titles in Ardmore St between Monley Lane and Little St.

It was previously occupied by a relocatable fish and chip business that stopped operating during Covid, and an old house and former art gallery that closed many years ago.

The buildings were recently removed.

Mr Gapes has previously been involved in some of the biggest resource consent applications to the council, including Queenstown’s Five Mile development.

Mr Gapes said he had been expecting a non-notified resource consent would be issued, so learning the council would issue a report under section 95 of the Resource Management Act recommending public notification came as a shock.

An architect’s impression of the proposed comprehensive town centre development in Wanaka’s Ardmore St. Image: Supplied

"We even engaged the demolition contractor to begin work ... based on the fact we thought we would have a consent by now ... I would have thought if anyone had any concerns about the development that they would have been in contact with the council by now," his email said.

Mr Gapes wanted to see a copy of the report, so he could understand what the council was concerned about and make appropriate changes.

"We are trying to do what we think is a very good development for the town by bringing in some exciting new food and beverage operators, provide a badly needed hotel and build a small number of high-quality apartments.

"I am really struggling to understand your reluctance to meet, or provide us with the s95 report.

"Without these we cannot understand your concerns or do anything about them.

"If we can understand your concerns with the development then we could propose some changes that may alleviate the areas that you have issues with," Mr Gapes said.

The chain of emails is on the council’s EDocs website and includes several other people involved in the development.

Other documents note two pre-application meetings were held in 2021 with Mr Gapes’ team to discuss engineering issues.

After the application was lodged, Mr Gapes asked for more meetings and Mr Brown made himself available in December.

However, Mr Gapes’ planning consultant, Barker Associates planner Gerard Thompson, of Auckland, advised Mr Brown legal advice was being sought and the council should not process the application any further.

Mr Brown’s emails explain his report was ready to be issued but he could not do that because of the request to put the application on hold.

There would be a delay so the applicant could consider options independently of the council.

The report release date was likely to be January 16, Mr Brown said.