The first Queenstown Lakes Spatial Plan to be prepared for the district was adopted by the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) on Thursday (July 29).

The plan, which QLDC chief executive Mike Theelen called “a roadmap for the future”, sets out a vision and framework for how and where this district will grow by 2050.

The plan identified locations for future growth and how that will be supported by infrastructure including ways of moving around, and access to schools, healthcare and other community facilities.

Community engagement has played a key part in the process of shaping the plan, the council said. The council received 147 submissions during the March to April consultation period, and 35 people addressed a hearings panel at meetings held in Queenstown and Wanaka.

“The submissions were broad in scope with common themes around population and employment projections, climate change and growth patterns,” Mike said. 

‘Southern Wanaka’ has been identified as an alternative for urban growth instead of the Hāwea area. PHOTO: Supplied

“All the recommended changes outlined in the report from the hearings panel chair were incorporated into the final plan.”

Key changes to the spatial plan considered by councillors included further clarity on climate change considerations; the benefits of more compact urban form and shift to public transport; and more detail around expected population growth of the Upper Clutha versus Queenstown/Wakatipu Basin.

Also included was ‘Southern Wanaka’ as a future alternative for urban growth in the Upper Clutha, instead of the Hāwea area; and added detail about public transport provision ahead of further growth of Lake Hāwea (beyond that provided for by the Proposed District Plan).

The spatial plan is the result of three years of work from the Grow Well Whaiora Partnership, a new Urban Growth Partnership between central government, Kāi Tahu and the QLDC.

The spatial plan will be reviewed on a three-year cycle, except for the next plan cycle which will be completed within two years to enable the plan to inform the 2024 Ten Year Plan and 30 Year Infrastructure Strategy.