A voluntary community group has so little confidence in the council that it is looking for support to do what is essentially the council’s job.

The Hāwea Community Association has “a total lack of trust” in the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) to plan for its future, Hāwea Community Association (HCA) chair Cherilyn Walthew told the Wanaka App.

She said the group needs engineering, planning, and legal support, because “we don’t feel that they [council] are always spending our money responsibly”.

“We want the council to produce some kind of long term plan about infrastructure - a kind of masterplan for Hāwea,” Cherilyn said, which should include roading, Three Waters (wastewater, stormwater, drinking water), services, and facilities.

Cherilyn’s comments follow an HCA meeting on Saturday (January 23) attended by more than 60 people. 

HCA chair Cherilyn Walthew says key people are in danger of burnout. PHOTO: Supplied

The meeting agenda included infrastructure and development updates as well as community updates, and it became clear during the meeting some association members were overwhelmed by their workload.

“The people at the forefront of these issues are in danger of burnout,” Cherilyn said.

Following the HCA’s lengthy opposition to a Special Housing Area (SHA) in Lake Hāwea, and ongoing concerns it has raised about the growing township’s infrastructure, trust in the council is at “zero”, Cherilyn said.

“It’s not to say council staff and councillors don’t work hard. There doesn’t seem to be any cohesion in the planning,” she said.

The HCA intend to oppose a proposal to extend the township’s boundaries to Domain Road, which would include the land pictured. PHOTO: Universal Developments

Following the spatial plan workshops late last year the HCA expected “some sort of plan” for the township, Cherilyn said

“What we would like is to have some consultation with the community that involves the community - not via drop in sessions. We want proper conversations about the real issues in Hāwea. The solutions need to be community driven,” she said.

The HCA met with the council in December and Cherilyn said the group is feeling positive about ongoing discussion on Three Waters.

An HCA Three Waters sub-committee was formed late last year and briefings were initiated with QLDC. The HCA’s concerns include ongoing problems with the existing wastewater treatment plant (which has been non-compliant for at least three years), the drinking water supply, and the future plans for wastewater. 

The council is continuing to look at ways to connect Lake Hāwea with Project Pure, the wastewater treatment plant for Wanaka and Albert Town, but has faced difficulties and delays.

The HCA sub-committee will be briefed by QLDC staff early next month on progress.

But while communication with council around Three Waters is “certainly moving in the right direction”, Cherilyn said the HCA is seeking action on roading and services, where she said there is an absence of forecasting and long term planning.

“Development in Hāwea has tended to be knee-jerk with solutions that often don’t offer long-term relief and then, when it eventually needs upgrading, the next solution is also often substandard - while the rates continue to rise with each project. We should be able to plan for this more effectively,” she said.

At Saturday’s meeting there was a lot of concern about the Lake Hāwea/SH6 intersection, and the roundabout at the east of the dam, especially following a vehicle accident there on New Year’s Day.

“There are some health and safety and traffic flow issues we need to sort out. We want the council to start addressing these now, and not leave us with a massive bottleneck.”

However, Cherilyn said the group often does not have the technical expertise enough to question what is presented to it by council and “a support group” is needed.

“The priorities at Hāwea don’t seem to be in the right order.”

She cited a barrier being replaced at the Lake Hāwea dam at a cost of $160k, which she said failed to include needed improvement to the footpath; and a $160k project at the Nook Road corner, questioning whether it could have been solved with a speed sign.

The HCA has also been fighting any proposals to extend the township’s urban boundary through to Domain Road as part of the Proposed District Plan (PDP) process.

Cherilyn, who has chaired the HCA since October 2019, described the past few years as “intense”.

A delegation from the HCA will attend the council meeting’s public forum today at 1pm in Queenstown today (Thursday January 28) to raise a range of concerns, she said.