Cromwell dog owners will lose access to two popular off-leash areas to make way for a major timber harvest, with the Central Otago District Council revealing it is investigating a solar farm as a future option for one of the sites. 

The Cromwell Community Board signed off on the decision on Tuesday to harvest approximately 60 hectares of council-owned pine plantation on Sandflat Road between Bannockburn and Cromwell. 

It follows an earlier decision approving the felling of close to 20 hectares on a separate block adjacent to Bannockburn Road. 

While the primary driver is the maturity of the trees and the need to clear land for an industrial subdivision on the smaller of the two sites, a report presented to the board flags a solar farm as a high- value option for the larger Sandflat Road block. 

Approximately 80 hectares of pines on council-owned land near Cromwell is scheduled to be felled in April. Image: CODC

The suggestion to pivot from forestry to solar generation comes just months after the controversial approval of the massive 300MW Māniatoto Plain Solar Farm near Ranfurly. 

Tuesday’s decision provides the green light for both the blocks to be harvested simultaneously in April. 

In a media statement released on Thursday (November 27), council property and facilities manager Garreth Robinson confirmed the harvest means removing the dog-walking status from both sites. 

"Ultimately, it’s about public safety. These plantations were never designed for recreation," Garreth said. 

"A potential dedicated, fenced dog-exercise area would give the community a much safer and more suitable facility into the future. In the meantime, the Alpha Street Reserve and Dustin Park in Pisa Moorings remain available for dog exercise in Cromwell." 

The report presented by project manager Bex Winders notes that while replanting pine is one option for the Sandflat Road block, a solar farm "may be better suited to the site’s characteristics and align with council’s sustainability and economic development goals". 

Pursuing this would require surrendering existing carbon credits, but the report suggests shifting focus to investments that support "innovation, resilience, and financial return" could offer greater long- term value than timber. 

Proceeds from the upcoming harvest are proposed to fund the investigation into these alternative uses. 

Cromwell Community Board chair Anna Harrison said the decision to harvest both blocks at once was the most practical and cost-effective approach. 

She acknowledged the loss of the “popular” dog-exercise areas will “be felt by the community”. 

The trees on the Sandflat Road block are more than 40 years old and delaying harvest would risk increasing maintenance costs and degrading wood quality, according to the council. 

A breakdown of the harvest values presented to the board suggests the trees themselves are of relatively low value compared to the land they sit on. 

The report estimates the 60-hectare Sandflat Road block will return approximately $141,000, while the smaller industrial site is valued at a little more than $44,000. 

Any surplus funds from the harvest will be used to offset costs associated with developing the Bannockburn Road site for industrial subdivision. 

Read more: Big Cromwell industrial block moves step closer to development