One of Central Otago’s biggest District Plan changes has been signed off - despite wracking up 15 appeals to the Environment Court.

The majority of Plan Change 19, which will eventually see infill of inner residential towns across the district, is now officially operative meaning many landowners with large sections could now start subdividing.

Hearings panel chair Neil Gillespie, who led the process, said 15 appeals out of 170+ submissions was pretty good, “because it just wasn’t possible to give everyone what they wanted.”

The message from some submitters was not to intensify small towns such as Bannockburn, Lowburn and Tarras, and those appealing through the Environment Court ranged from individuals to groups, in both Cromwell and Alexandra.

Pisa Moorings Vineyard and Pisa Village Developments, along with North Cromwell Society were among the 15, as well as Fulton Hogan, and One Five Five Developments in Alexandra.

Plan Change 19 opened up the market for a wider range of housing typologies, for developers to try different things.

Central Otago deputy mayor and Cromwell ward councillor Neil Gillespie led the hearings panel for Plan Change 19 FILE SHOT

Cr Gillespie said it also meant people trying to get into a house of their own, or a rental, would have different choices and options available in the near future.  

Enabling smaller sized sections provided more people with certainty, and with plenty of spare private land across Central Otago, the district council was just the ‘enabler’ of the plan change.

The process was about making sure that the district had a plan for residential land being available for the next 30 years, he said.

The council had worked hard with communities to understand where they wanted the growth to happen.

“There will always be conflicting expectations from the community, but considering what we went through, the vast majority will be happy.”

Preliminary discussions were already underway with the parties appealing some of the changes.

Read the appeals here