Council ahead of game

Statistics New Zealand projections released on Monday come as no surprise to the Queenstown Lakes District Council, QLDC acting chief executive Stewart Burns said.

“For more than a decade this Council has recognised that it needs to be ahead of the game and understand growth in order to ensure its infrastructure is adequately planned,” Mr Burns said.

Statistics New Zealand figures showed Queenstown Lakes District shares the highest growth rate in the country, of 2.2% per annum, alongside Selwyn District.

“Our own forecasting tells us we are looking at a 21.2% increase by the year 2021 and we have planned for that in terms of infrastructure and the wider picture of sustainable growth management. It is also a tool that allows us to determine the level of development contribution to ensure we can keep pace with growth,” Mr Burns said.

Council developed its own growth forecasting models, which it has relied on for the 10-Year planning process and made available to other agencies such as the Ministry of Education, because census data quickly became redundant in a growth environment, he said.

“The other factor we have to provide sufficient infrastructure for is that of peak day population, which occurs at times like New Year’s Eve,” Mr Burns said. Statistic NZ projections do not include a visitor component.

Council projected a peak day population of around 90,000 in 2012, rising to 108,970 in 2021.

“We have had to ensure that we have the infrastructure to cater to not only a growing resident population but also the fluctuating visitor factor,” he said.