The long drawn out battle over a proposal to build a multi-purpose water sports facility on the shores of Lake Wanaka looks like it has come to an end with an Environment Court decision clearing the way for the controversial building.
Judge John Hassan has disallowed the appeal by Save Wanaka Lake Front Reserve Inc. against the decision last year to grant resource consent for the Wanaka Watersports Facility in Lake Wanaka's Roys Bay.
An Environment Court hearing on the appeal was held in March.
It has almost been a year since independent commissioners granted resource consent for the facility, despite more than 700 submissions against the proposal and Queenstown Lakes District Council staff recommending it be rejected.
Both sides put up passionate arguments for and against the proposal which has divided opinion in the lakeside town.
Most of the opposition to the facility is because of its proposed location in the western corner of Roys Bay, but the Wanaka Watersports Facility said it was the most suitable location for the building.
Both sides have spent a large amount of money of the proposal and had asked for donations to help with the appeal process.
Read more in tomorrow's ODT
