An update on the 2021-2031 Ten Year Plan progress

Towards a more pedestrian-friendly Queenstown town centre

Despite considerable challenges over the past twelve months affecting resourcing and supply chains, the Queenstown town centre street upgrades are largely complete. Lower Beach and Rees Street have reopened as high-quality shared spaces and are being enjoyed by locals and visitors. Park Street is also complete, featuring a wide shared path, new street furniture, lighting and signage. Work is continuing on Brecon Street.

Significant progress has also been made on the Queenstown Town Centre Arterial Road. Stage 1 will link Melbourne and Henry Streets, removing general traffic from Stanley Street and unlocking potential future investment to improve the town centre experience. Earlier this year Ballarat Street closed to through traffic permanently, allowing for the new link between Melbourne and Henry Street to be built. These projects were supported by Government funding from the Infrastructure Reference Group (IRG) fund as part of its COVID relief package.

Connecting routes to actively get from A to B

Providing more options for getting from A to B was a strong theme in the 2021-2031 Ten Year Plan. Solid progress has been made to plan and design eight priority trails connecting key destinations such as Arrowtown, Arthurs Point, Kelvin Heights, Jacks Point, Lake Hayes Estate and Shotover Country, Fernhill, Frankton and Queenstown.

Over in Wānaka, work has started to construct the highly anticipated Schools to Pool route. Construction has also begun on a shared pathway along Andersons Road and improvements along the waterfront have considerably improved access for those wishing to walk and cycle.

Improvements to the Arthurs Point to Queenstown route costing $7.3M will be offset by funding of $7.1M as part of Waka Kotahi’s Transport Choices Fund. At this time the route doesn’t include an alternative river crossing from the existing Edith Cavell bridge.

Lakeview development

Work has been ongoing to lay the underground services and create the streets that will enable the future development of the Lakeview land. This is expected to be completed on schedule by September 2023. Construction of a Market Square has been deferred until the 2025- 2026 financial year. For more detailed information on this project go to the Lakeview Development page on the QLDC website.

Investment in Three Waters

At the time of preparing the 2021- 2031 Ten Year Plan, Council was directed to include three waters, despite the ongoing reform programme. This year we have been directed to assume the Affordable Waters Reform programme will go ahead although the transition timeline has been extended. Ongoing investment in three waters infrastructure has remained a focus area over the last two years.

A number of significant projects have been completed or initiated in the past year, aimed at improving resilience and capacity of the network as growth in the district continues. Projects currently underway include:

• North Wānaka wastewater and water supply upgrade – under construction

• Glenorchy reservoirs – under construction

• Beacon Point Reservoir – under construction

• Project Pure Wastewater Treatment Plant Stage 2 – under construction

• Shotover Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade – construction expected to start mid-late 2023

• Smart water meters – trial in Glenorchy and Luggate.

Delays in the establishment of the 10 new water entities will impact on Councils debt balance sheet and necessitates a review of the Council’s programme in the next Long Term Plan.

Investment in community facilities

Community spaces bring people together and are at the heart of what makes our towns and communities so special. Over the past year we’ve made good progress on new and upgraded community facilities, including the new Luggate Memorial Centre | Whare Mahana. We’re well advanced on a project to convert the former Mitre 10 building in Wānaka to a youth and community centre to cater for the growing and active Wānaka community.

A project to convert the residential property at 516 Ladies Mile to an interim community centre was put on hold due to the discovery of toxic mould in the existing building. Options are now being considered for the longer-term provision of a community facility on the site for the growing communities at Lake Hayes Estate and Shotover Country.

On 26 May 2023 the Council also became the owner of land on Mount Iron in Wānaka, which is a long term legacy acquisition for the community.

Project Manawa

The Stanley Street site was identified in the Queenstown Town Centre Masterplan as the preferred location for a community heart, with a variety of cultural facilities for the district’s communities, new community spaces and Council offices.

QLDC is continuing to work with Kāi Tahu (represented by Ngāi Tahu Property) on proposals to develop the site and community consultation on matters such as a land strategy and next steps are expected later in 2023.

In the meantime, the site has seen considerable change over the past year. The former QPACT building was removed in September 2022, followed by the construction of a temporary carpark to help alleviate some of the parking pressures in the Queenstown Town Centre.

The Queenstown Arts Centre building was removed from Council’s strategic assets register in August 2022 following formal consultation and work is underway to finalise the relocation of the building for community use elsewhere.

Staff costs

A workforce review was completed in 2022, resulting in changes to our organisational structure and resourcing levels to ensure Council has the right capacity and capability to deliver on the capital investment programme and meet community expectations around levels of service. The review, coupled with inflation has resulted in increased salary and wage costs for the 2023-2024 year.

Aotearoa New Zealand's first passive community building now open in Luggate

The Luggate community has a new ‘warm house’ to call home after the Luggate Memorial Centre | Whare Mahana officially opened in December 2022. This is the first community facility in Aotearoa New Zealand built to Passive House standards and it’s already proving popular with local community groups and events.

The centre is a finalist in the 2023 NZ Property Council Awards.

Wānaka Lakefront development

Locals and visitors to Wānaka are now enjoying a vastly improved community space along the lakefront. Stage 2 of the Wānaka Lakefront Development Plan was completed in December 2022 and features a wide shared pathway, new carparking spaces and green space for people to sit, enjoy a picnic and take in the views.

The pathway also plays host to the historic Te Huruhuru’s Map – a re-creation of the first map of the area which aided early explorers. Finishing touches will be made in

2023, including informative signage and the installation of historical tiles along the shared pathway.

Details are being finalised for Stage 5 of the Development Plan, which runs from the Wānaka Marina to the Yacht Club. Construction timings are expected to be confirmed by mid-2023.

Three water infrastructure upgrades

Several significant upgrades have been completed over the last two years, vastly improving the capacity and resilience of our water supply, stormwater and wastewater networks to meet the changing needs of our growing communities.

Key highlights this year include:

• A significant upgrade to Wānaka’s drinking water supply in the western area of town is now complete. The project involved installing a new water main pipe and pump station on Wānaka-Mount Aspiring Road. This improves network capacity and resilience of the supply.

• New water infrastructure is now up and running to support the fast-growing areas of Shotover Country, Lake Hayes Estate, Te Pūtahi Ladies Mile and Frankton Flats. This project saw four new bores, a water treatment plant and native planting.

• A reticulated community wastewater scheme was completed to service the Cardrona community.

• A new water main and an upgraded sewerage pipe was installed along the Shotover Bridge