The district’s first dedicated Marine Rescue Centre has been granted approval to proceed and no appeals have been lodged against the decision. 

The approval for a resource consent was granted on October 19 but the applicant behind the project to build the centre, Coastguard Wanaka Lakes (CWL), had to wait 15 working days to allow for appeals. 

That time has now expired and no appeals were lodged with the Environment Court, CWL president Jonathan Walmisley said.

“That enables us to be positive and move forward with the local community to produce something fit for purpose,” he said. 

The proposed centre will comprise a single storey 220m2 building housing the rescue boat, a members’ training room and kitchenette, and a small storage area for the harbourmaster’s office to house its equipment. 

The rescue centre will be tucked in under the trees on Eely Point Reserve just above the Scout Den. PHOTO: Wanaka App

It will be well landscaped with trees and shrubs to conceal the building as much as possible from the adjacent Lakeside Drive and nearby homes.

Jonathan said the decision means the project committee, which will meet next week, can now prepare the final design which will be submitted for building consent.

The committee will also discuss approaching potential funders and local community groups wishing to support or participate in the project.

“We will continue to involve the local community to ensure they get something they can be proud of,” he said.

It has been four years since the CWL first approached the WCB and the QLDC about the proposal to build a Marine Rescue Centre on the Lake Wānaka shore.

The 220m2 centre will house the rescue boat and provide storage for the harbourmaster’s equipment. PHOTO: Supplied

Multiple rounds of public consultation, site meetings, an application to lease, hearings with submissions for and against the centre, have hindered the project’s momentum.

Last year, the CWL received the blessing of the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) which issued the CWL with a 33-year lease for the centre at a site, selected by the Wanaka Community Board (WCB), above the Scout Den on Eely Point Reserve.

CWL’s efforts culminated in a resource consent hearing in September this year before independent commissioner Bob Nixon who granted resource consent approval subject to a number of conditions covering landscaping, lighting, engineering, environmental management and the building’s external appearance.

According to the QLDC harbourmaster, Lake Wānaka is by far the busiest lake under QLDC control with as many as 3000 boaties on the lake during a normal summer season.

For years the CWL used to operate out of a building on the showgrounds, but as Wanaka grew busier the additional time to get through congested traffic to launch the rescue boat was proving costly in terms of a successful rescue. 

A purpose-built rescue centre near the lake was the solution. For the rescue centre to be effective speed is the key criterion, Jonathan said. “We need to be able to launch within 20 minutes of a call out.”

He said it was still too early in the process to commit to a date when the rescue centre will be operational as there are still too many variables, such as funding, but “the intention is to progress the project at best speed”.