Commercial development with variation

A DISTRICT plan variation allowing a supermarket and a retirement village to be built at the Northlake housing area in Wanaka has been approved.

At its full meeting in Queenstown yesterday, the Queenstown Lakes District Council adopted the recommendation of an independent hearings panel to approve Private Plan Change 53.

It means the developer of the 220ha subdivision, Northlake Investments Ltd, can include a supermarket of up to 1250sq m — 250sq m less than requested.

The plan change will more than double the size of the commercial area, enabling establishing a retirement home.

It also removes a zone standard that requires four community facilities to be built. A playground and tennis court have been completed, and consent granted for a fitness centre.

However, the hearings panel said they accepted that a 20m25m indoor swimming pool was ‘‘no longer a prerequisite’’ for the subdivision because the council had built an indoor pool at the Three Parks development.

Mayor Jim Boult said he ‘‘reluctantly’’ recommended the plan change be approved.

As he and some councillors had expressed at October’s meeting, the issue ‘‘did not sit comfortably’’ with him.

There appeared to be a conflict between ‘‘what residents thought they were getting and what they are actually getting’’.