towns’ future
Luggate
A fair proportion of the 35 residents who attended the Luggate workshop appeared happy for the village to stay much as it is.
When asked where he would like Luggate to be in 30 years, one said: ‘‘Right where it is now’’.
Noone at his table demurred. However, several pointed out that like it or not, major development near Luggate is a real prospect in the form of an expansion of Wanaka Airport to include regular passenger air services.
Luggate is directly under the flightpath.
One resident, who had moved from Gatwick, in England, said he knew exactly what Luggate would be in for.
How much say residents would have over airport expansion plans was one question raised, and whether infrastructure would be put in place before the expansion or done afterwards in an ‘‘ad hoc’’ way was another.
There was also some concern about large housing developments springing up on the village boundaries and several residents called for restrictions on highdensity housing.
Another issue for Luggate was the position of State Highway 6 which runs through the village — some suggesting a bypass is needed.
‘‘You can’t talk about development here without looking at highways,’’ one resident said, pointing out the issue was with the NZ Transport Agency, rather than with the council.
Some suggested it was time the council better defined the part of the village that could be used for industrial purposes.
And some had an eye on the potential to turn the Upper Clutha Transport yard into a village centre with shops and accommodation — while ensuring the old mill on the site was retained.
There was a view that small sections should be discouraged, while some felt it should be easier to add ‘‘granny flats’’ to existing sections.
There were also calls for public transport services, an offroad cycle way between Luggate and Wanaka, the development of a park on Luggate Heights, more recreation areas for children, a preschool, and a new bridge across the Clutha River in order to take the pressure off the ‘‘shaky’’ red bridge.
Under the heading of ‘‘great things about Luggate’’, one resident contributed ‘‘not Queenstown’’ and another ‘‘not Wanaka’’.
Albert Town
The ‘‘loss’’ of Albert Town’s character was lamented by some who attended the council’s preconsultation workshop this week.
‘‘This could be any suburb in any town in any part of New Zealand or Australia,’’ one resident said.
Albert Town was once a collection of cribs next to the Clutha River, ‘‘world famous’’ for its fishing.
‘‘The character of Albert Town has changed and become generic,’’ the resident said, although ‘‘heaven knows how’’ the council might recreate what was previously special about the town.
With much of the available land now built on, there was discussion about what type of further development might be acceptable.
Some wanted the bigger ‘‘one acre’’ sections retained, while others believed there was a place for more smaller sections, achieved by subdividing sections already built on.
One resident said that was already happening, while another said the area known as ‘‘old Albert Town’’ had potential for development.
There appeared to be a strong desire for an improved network of tracks and paths for pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders — every form of transport other than cars.
Ideally, it would be possible to reach Wanaka and the shops in the new Three Parks commercial area without going on any roads, and there was a call for an underpass beneath State Highway 84 to achieve that.
One resident pointed out State Highway 6, which runs through Albert Town was already a busy ‘‘main arterial’’ for tourists travelling between Wanaka and the West Coast, and would become even busier with the 400lot special housing development at Lake Hawea.
There was a call for the onelane Albert Town bridge to be replaced with a twolane bridge, but for the Clutha River to remain as the boundary for housing.
As one resident pointed out, if the council did not act, over the next 30 years Wanaka could become a city spread all the way to Lake Hawea.
‘‘We’re not going to stop the growth, but we need to manage the growth,’’ he said.
There was a desire for reserves and parks to be protected and for the Albert Town camping ground to be retained.
One resident said any new airport development should be further away from Albert Town.
‘‘The last thing you want is 777s coming in over your house.’’
Other ideas included a fruit tree forest, worker accommodation provided by the council, preparations to begin for a hospital in Wanaka, and more attention being given to eradicating rabbits, broom and other pests.