The Upper Clutha A&P Society can now get started on the expansion of its shed at the Wānaka Showgrounds after the local community board gave the project the thumbs up last week. 

The major upgrade will feature an office, a meeting room, a kitchen, bathroom facilities and storage in an expanded 866.5m2 footprint, transforming it into a fit-for-purpose office and storage facility from which the society can plan and run the Wānaka A&P Show.

The expansion reflects “the growing nature of the Upper Clutha A&P Society, the Wanaka A&P Show itself and related operational demands,” application documents said. 

Used as the exhibition shed where home industries entrants display their work during the show, the building currently features only a compact office at one end.

This is despite the fact that bringing the Wānaka A&P Show to life requires year-round work from the team behind the event.

The existing shed, which will get a major upgrade.

The society first presented a resource consent application for the project in 2018 and the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board (WUCCB) signed off on the project at last week’s meeting.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) councillor and former Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board (WUCCB) Barry Bruce said he believed the council and society had reached “a good compromise” with the final design. 

Deputy mayor Quentin Smith acknowledged it had been an “area of contention” over the last five or so years.

“It’s pleasing that we’re at the point that we can finally approve it,” he said.

The Upper Clutha A&P Society has a lease to a portion of the Wānaka Showgrounds, where the Wānaka A&P Show has been run since 1933.

It is one of New Zealand’s largest annual agricultural and pastoral events, attracting over 40,000 people and providing $28M worth of direct economic benefit to the local community each year.

IMAGES: Supplied