The Upper Clutha Community Board decided yesterday to recommend the plan that will determine the future use and preservation of Wānaka’s treasured Mt Iron Reserve.
After purchasing 100ha of land on Mt Iron in 2021, the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) set out to outline the long-term use of the reserve in a draft released last year, some of the objectives being the preservation of the natural landscape and the enabling of recreational activities such as bike trails.
The revised plan still includes separate bike trails as a potential option, while removing the possibility of new commercial use and amending the official map to only show two access points instead of ten.
The original plan had 446 submissions, of which 379 were in support.
However, the hearing held in December of last year was attended by an equal number of opposing and supporting submitters.
The largest divide was over the potential of having bike trails on the mountain, many submitters feeling that it would cause issues for walkers and would not preserve the natural landscape.
Resident Jill Gardiner was an opposing submitter who said during the hearing she believed the proposal would lead to "the ruination of Mt Iron" as the location should be preserved for its "beauty and serenity".
Bike Wanaka president Ewan Mackie also spoke at the hearing in support of the plan, saying more recreation did not have to mean less conservation.
QLDC parks managers took the submissions into account and made minor revisions.
Although the objective to enable mountainbiking was taken out of the revised plan, bike trails are still a possibility.
An amendment was made to one of the policies to ensure that any future walking or biking trails had to be separate.
Cr Lyal Cocks, who served as chairman of the Mt Iron hearing, acknowledged yesterday there would be split opinions, but he believed the plan would be beneficial in the long run.
"I guess there will be some out there that will not be 100% happy, but I would encourage them to look at the whole community," he said.
Councillors and board members commended the plan as being "great guidance" and agreed it would go for council approval in April.
