A new resource consent approving short-term visitor use of Mount Aspiring College Te Kura o Tititea (MAC) hostel buildings formalises occasional use of the buildings outside school term dates, MAC principal Nicola Jacobsen says.

During the school term the five hostel buildings - each of which have three bedrooms - are occupied by students participating in the college’s Year 13 hostel programme, which brings students from around New Zealand to MAC for their last year of school.

Under the new resource consent the MAC Foundation (which leases the hostel buildings to the school) can rent out each of the buildings for the 90 days of the year when school is out.

“The residential visitor accommodation use of the MAC hostel has been used in this way since they were built - circa 1997 - so it is not a new idea,” Nicola said.  

“The residential visitor accommodation application process was undertaken by the MAC Foundation to ensure that the relevant activities on the site are compliant.”

Occasionally families with a child who has been a hosteller asks to use the hostel accommodation over the school holidays, Nicola said, or school groups who need accommodation ask to use it.

A series of conditions limit any negative impact of the use of the buildings on neighbours and the overall impact is “less than minor”, Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) planner Kate Wasley said.

Money raised from renting out the properties will support school projects, Nicola said.

“The trust deed defines the purpose of the MAC Foundation as ‘To further the education of the students at Mt Aspiring College’ and all funds will be used for this purpose,” she said.

She added that the MAC foundation will be publicly relaunching in 2023 when more information about the work of the foundation will become available.

PHOTO: Wānaka App