The Hāwea Community Association (HCA) has reopened discussion on the future of Hāwea Flat with a request for $20,000 from the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) to consult with the small rural community.

HCA president Cherilyn Walthew made the request to councillors at the recent Annual Plan submissions hearing, saying the proposed figure was “an absolute bargain” to prepare a community-led masterplan.

The masterplan for Hāwea Flat would “capture and present our aspirations, challenges, and suggested solutions, and bring them together in a simple, easy to read and visual format for use by community members, community groups and decision makers,” she said.

The urban boundary for Lake Hāwea township was ratified last week, allowing the potential for residential development to come within a few paddocks from Hāwea Flat’s northern boundary of Camphill Road.

Read more: More urban growth: Hāwea urban boundary to be extended.

Cherilyn told the Wānaka App the HCA needs to look at the issues facing Hāwea Flat, which were not addressed in the 2022 Hāwea Masterplan.

Read more: Hāwea community works on ‘audacious’ masterplan.

She said Hāwea Flat, which is currently served by septic tanks and bore water supplies, is marked for more residential development in the QLDC Spatial Plan, which would increase development pressure. 

An artist’s imagining of the entrance to Hāwea Flat from the Hāwea Masterplan. IMAGE: Supplied

A 2012 Otago Regional Council (ORC) study of Hāwea groundwater found a “nitrate hotspot” around Hāwea Flat indicating leaching to groundwater of septic tank effluent, which currently constrains development.

Meanwhile Lake Hāwea has scored $24M from central government to connect the township to Project Pure.

“Once that pipe goes into play… we think Hāwea Flat will come under pressure to be connected up, which will increase the argument for development,” Cherilyn said.

Cherilyn said instead of developers making these decisions “we would rather that Hāwea Flat be given an opportunity to have a conversation about what they want to do”.

She said a Hāwea Flat volunteer taskforce would be established after initial consultation to produce the first draft of a Hāwea Flat Masterplan, hopefully with the help of community group Shaping our Future.

The ‘school track’ leading from Hawea Flat to Lake Hāwea township. PHOTO: Wānaka App

Cherilyn said the HCA overshot its budget for the Hāwea Masterplan by at least 100 percent, and the $20,000 being sought from QLDC was “dirt cheap” compared to how much it would cost the council to do the same thing.

The project’s costs were estimated to include 100 hours of graphic design (at $95 per hour) and 100 hours of landscape architecture (at $105 per hour).

QLDC spokesperson Sam White told the Wānaka App council consultation affecting Hāwea Flat had been undertaken through the Spatial Plan, including the ‘My Place’ session, Grow Well Whaiora, and targeted community engagement for the Upper Clutha and targeted stakeholder workshops for Hāwea.

He said there are currently no confirmed plans to connect Hāwea Flat to Project Pure, but the council is “leaving the door open for this down the track by allowing for a future connection between Hāwea Flat and the planned Hāwea to Project Pure wastewater pipeline that’s currently in its design phase”.

Sam said QLDC intends to “create structure plans for all priority development areas, and eventually settlements too”.

Any HCA master planning work for Hāwea Flat “would be external to council,” he said.

Submissions on the Annual Plan have closed and been heard by councillors, who will consider the final Annual Plan at an upcoming meeting.