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26th Jan - 1st Feb
FIRST ON THE STREET
No 785
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
ENQUIRIES@LWB.CO.NZ
JO
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55 IN SI
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Powerless Local democracy is not in a particularly healthy place if we can’t collectively stop developers even if we want to. Yet, that was the argument put forward by council bosses last week for the $1.7 million (yep, $1,700,000) consultant master planning of Ladies Mile. We can’t stop them, so we’ll tell them what we want instead. A council-commissioned study in 2017 identified the sunny, flat fields on either side of SH6 between Lake Hayes and Shotover Bridge as one of the best places in the Wakatipu Basin for housing. Armed with that, and the national need for new housing, any landowner / developer could drive a truck through the Resource Management Act process all the way to a win in the Environment Court. So, the views of nearby residents and their councillors, at least in terms of opposing any development at all, don’t really matter. I’ll declare an interest here. I am a local resident, but still, that just doesn’t seem right. I’m not saying it’s not accurate and truthful, but how have we ended up in such a powerless position? The major objection is, of course, traffic. Even with bus lanes, park & rides and cycle paths and a new SH6 roundabout to Lake Hayes Estate, adding a potential 3000 residents to that side of the Shotover just doesn’t add up.
Mark Williams from Dragon, performing at the 11th Gibbston Valley Winery Summer Concert on Saturday Photo credit: Clare Toia-Bailey of Image Central
There are many other objections too, such as the loss of rural character and the fact that there appear to be many places closer to town, particularly around Five Mile, which could better accommodate medium and high-density development. But we all know there’s a housing crisis. We all know we need to cut down on private car use, both for the environment and the simple fact that populations are exploding. Self-interest and the greater good rarely align. Perhaps, then, we should applaud the council for getting ahead of the game and pushing for integrated development, complete with new community facilities, expensive though that process is. I do think there’s a way to make everyone happy. The Government recently removed the ability for councils to require developers to provide a minimum number of carparks with housing and commercial buildings. Maybe then, QLDC should go the whole hog and lobby Government for the power to impose a maximum number of carparks - that number being zero. Make all these new developments car-free communities, with no parking whatsoever, save for some restricted drop-offs and short-stay at community facilities. That might bring down the market price of the new housing and also ensure beefed up public transport capacity, which would allow existing residents to redesign our lives for much less reliance on the cocooned, conveniently luxury of our private cars.
Paul Taylor paul@qmg.co.nz
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