Wanaka sportsfields and aquatic centre consultation

Consultation on the Wanaka indoor and outdoor sports facilities and aquatic centre is scheduled to take place in February, Queenstown Lakes District Council Deputy Mayor and Wanaka Councillor John S Wilson said.

The Council and the Wanaka Community Board were now in a position to ensure that the community could look at the ‘big picture’ to give informed feedback to assist the Council in making a final decision.

Two community-led working parties have completed their work and the Council had been compiling a bundle of information. This included the working party findings and other reports related to the Wanaka Camping Ground facilities and the merits of co-locating facilities.

“It is critical that before we enter this significant project into the Council’s 10-Year-Plan, which will be consulted on in March, that we share the information contained in the proposal with the Upper Clutha community,” Mr Wilson said.
It had been a process that had involved multiple layers of information, analysis and reports to get to a point where the Council and the Wanaka Community Board were in a position to be able to make a recommendation for the community to consider.
Issues for consideration would include not only the location of the proposed facilities but a recommendation on the proposed facilities mix, the traffic and planning implications and future demand.

“We have now established that it will be early in the New Year before we have all the parts of the jigsaw together in order to be able to present a complete set of information for the community,” Mr Wilson said.

It was essential that the community had at least a two-week period to take on board the information prior to a ‘drop-in’ session being held in mid-February.
“Our goal is to make all information widely available in the third week of January. People will be able to access the documents at the Wanaka Council office, the Wanaka Library and on the Council website,” Mr Wilson said.

The ‘drop-in’ session would be held on Wednesday 11 February 2009 at the Lake Wanaka Centre from 3-7pm.