Depot designation to be considered

 The proposed new maintenance depot to be situated in the Queenstown Gardens will require a variation to the existing designation, Queenstown Lakes District Council chief executive Duncan Field said.

The council would consider the matter at its meeting tomorrow (Friday) with a recommendation to issue a Notice of Requirement and publicly notifying the designation.

“This will allow for public input into the proposal. It’s recognised that any proposal regarding the gardens is sensitive and this variation allows us to hear from the community,” Mr Field said. The hearing would be presided over by an independent commissioner.

“If the council decide to go down this track tomorrow, it will be important that people understand what it is that is being proposed,” Mr Field said.

The council was concerned that there was an element of misinformation around the planned depot.

“What is proposed is a functional workspace for the horticultural team, it’s a depot with one office for the supervisor, toilets, a smoko room and garaging to be located on a site already earmarked 20-years-ago for a depot in the 1989 Queenstown Gardens Recreation Reserve Management Plan,” Mr Field said.

The proposed depot had been architecturally designed, also a requirement of the plan.

“It is a two-storey building but the site has been excavated and only a single story will be above ground level,” Mr Field said.

The building would not impinge on any club car parks.

“If anything it will add a couple of extra parks which will be developed for depot visitors,” Mr Field said.

At the end of the day the driver had been to improve service delivery around the maintenance of reserves, which had resulted in bringing the horticultural team back ‘in-house’.

“They need a depot,” Mr Field said.

He encouraged anyone interested in the proposal to attend an information session at the Bowling Club on Wednesday 7 May at 5.30pm.