Don’t touch Wanaka’s reserve land

WANAKA is once again in the news, but this time not for the right reasons.

It appears that the absence, and/or the reluctance, of the Queenstown Lakes District Council to use the words Crownowned land in relation to various reserves, reserve management plans, at staff training or when educating councillors on the role reserves play in the community, is again causing serious concerns about the future sanctity of our recreation reserves.

If our expanses of reserves are eroded, this has potential to undermine the success of Wanaka as a special place as seen by locals and visitors alike.

Recent reports in the Otago Daily

Times (6.4.18) raise serious concerns. Reserve land owned by the Crown (and therefore by the people) is deemed in the management plans as: ‘‘areas for recreation and sporting activities and the physical welfare and enjoyment of the public, and for the protection of the natural environment and beauty of the countryside, with emphasis on the retention of open spaces and on outdoor recreational activities.’’

Because this is the purpose of reserve land like Lismore Park, it will be a sad day indeed when supporting reserves for the purpose they are set aside for is not something the QLDC is fully committed to.

One building on Lismore Park would set a dangerous precedent for Wanaka and wider.