Airport plan a shock for Tarras landowners
Christchurch Airport is not planning on ‘‘riding roughshod’’ over the Tarras community to build an international airport in the Central Otago village, a representative says.
Christchurch International Airport representatives fronted the community at a public meeting in the village hall last night.
The airport’s proposal is to build a new international airport on 750 hectares near Tarras – about an hour’s drive from the existing Queenstown Airport, and five hours’ drive from Christchurch.
Airport representative Michael Singleton said he wanted to start by ‘‘dispelling’’ several rumours regarding investment and the level of planning.
‘‘It is not a process where we are going to ride roughshod over any other process. There are no big plans here . . . We are not entitled to create an airport from today.’’
Singleton said the proposal was not a ‘‘shovel ready’’ project, and planning was still in the early stages.
‘‘We have a vision, we have an idea . . . We have a lot of hurdles to cross.’’
The proposed airport would be fully funded by Christchurch Airport, he said. ‘‘There are not investors involved . . . no money coming from offshore.’’
A member of the public said ‘‘riding roughshod’’ was exactly how the community felt the airport was acting by making ‘‘secret’’ land purchases.
Singleton said the airport had planned to talk with the community this week. ‘‘If we didn’t have the land, we were just having conversations and flying a kite.’’
Tarras resident Scott Worthington quizzed Singleton about the level of consultation – including with the district council, which found out about the project on July 22.
Singleton said the airport had apologised for the ‘‘out of sequence’’ way the news was delivered.
A last-minute video meeting was held with councillors and community board members, he said.
Before the meeting, Tarras Community Group representative John Harris – who helped to organise the public meeting – said several Tarras landowners felt ‘‘deceived’’ and ‘‘betrayed’’, as they had believed they were selling to a horticulture enterprise.
Harris, who owns Ma¯ ori Point Vineyard, said the community was still reeling from the ‘‘shock’’ announcement.
‘‘Agents acting on behalf of the airport came and made lucrative offers to buy their land, and gave the very strong impression that it was to be for some kind of large horticulture development.
‘‘They wanted to keep this confidential so land prices didn’t go out of sight – and nobody had the slightest inkling that it was for an airport.’’
Reaction was ‘‘extremely negative’’ but the whole country needed to be consulted, he said.
‘‘What does the team of 5 million think of where we are going with large international airports with global warming, with sustainable tourism, and where does a third large airport within a 50km ring . . . fit into the places we want to go?’’
Christchurch Airport, which is 75 per cent owned by the Christchurch City Council and 25 per cent owned by the Government, has already spent $45 million on the project – which includes buying land next to state highways 8 and 8A.
The airport plan includes starting with a 2.2-kilometre runway, long enough for A320 jets but not long enough for larger jets such as the Boeing 777 or Airbus A380 carrying full loads longhaul.