Pre-sales of land sections in stage one of the 34ha Longview development, Hāwea’s Special Housing Area, are being advertised with the full launch scheduled to start in March this year.

Universal Developments (UD) was granted consent in April 2020 to develop 465 residential allotments and around 90 lots ranging from $219k – $299k in value will be available in stage one with first titles anticipated by late 2021.

The residential sections range in size from 250m2-620m2, with most being in the 400m2-600m2 size. 

Hāwea Community Association (HCA) chair Cherilyn Walthew said the association was concerned the average residential section sizes appeared smaller than the Proposed District Plan allowed and she was surprised that UD was advertising the launch of section sales from March.

Development density approved

In granting consent for the development to proceed, commissioner David Whitney, who chaired the hearing with two other commissioners, said the proposal will introduce a density of development not anticipated by the Proposed District Plan... but is “a logical extension to the existing urban area of Lake Hāwea”.

Any adverse effects on the environment can be satisfactorily mitigated by enforcing the conditions of consent, David said, and the proposal is not contrary to the objectives and policies of the Operative District Plan and Proposed District Plan.

A view from stage one of the Longview subdivision looking back at houses built on the Sentinel Park development across Cemetery Road. PHOTO: Supplied.

“Development in such a locality is preferred to developing land remote from existing community services in established townships,” he said, and provides an opportunity to add to the district’s housing stock and materially assist in addressing the affordability issue.

“Confining development to existing zoned areas will...not contribute to the provision of affordable housing within the District,” he said. 

Community housing

Under a deed agreement signed between Universal Developments, the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) and the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT) in 2018, the developer agreed to a number of conditions concerning community housing, affordable house and land deals, land resale and visitor accommodation.

UD has agreed to gift the QLCHT 12.5 per cent of all its sections, equivalent to roughly 60 sections valued at $15.5M.  

QLCHT executive officer Julie Scott said UD had offered from the outset “to front load” the donation of land, ensuring the trust received a large number of sections in the first stage of development - “a bonus for households on our waiting list”.

“So we are currently scheduled to receive 28 sections due early 2022,” Julie said. These will be developed by QLCHT and allocated to the trust’s various programmes including assisted ownership, affordable rentals, rent-to-buy and senior housing.

Affordable housing and covenants

In addition to the QLCHT’s housing options, Longview will also provide fixed price land and house packages, initially starting from $499,000 for a two bedroom, one/two bathroom, single/double garage with landscaping option to three/four bedroom, two bathroom, double garage with landscaping with a top price of $650,000.

These prices are below average prices for the district and within the ceiling for first-home buyers to access extra financial support through the KiwiSaver HomeStart scheme.

A number of local home building companies (such as Stonewood, Mike Greer, GJ Gardner and Landmark Homes) have already committed to building the homes at the fixed prices and will have a variety of options available for buyers to select.

UD will introduce a vetting system of potential purchasers to avoid speculation and ensure genuine home buyers have priority, together with a lower deposit requirement (five per cent rather than 10 per cent) for first home buyers where required and a longer due diligence period.

First home buyers who will occupy their home and who plan to begin building within 12 months will be given first priority. 

Also under the deed, UD cannot sell more than one section or land/house package to any single person unless it's to a licensed building company.

To stop land speculators from purchasing sections and flicking them on at a profit, a covenant will be placed on all sections that they cannot be sold within five years of initial purchase unless their have a house built on them; or they are being sold in a land house package by a licensed builder; or it’s a mortgagee sale.

Visitor accommodation on a commercial basis will also be prohibited. A covenant on each dwelling will only permit residents to let their home for up to 28 days each year in accordance with the QLDC’s current rules for all residential dwellings. 

Infrastructure issues

Longview’s infrastructure of roads and three waters (wastewater, stormwater and drinking water) was also a topic of discussion with the HCA as was the $11M in development contributions UD will pay to the QLDC. 

Council staff and elected members decide how, when and where these development contributions are spent.

Assessments of the current stormwater systems indicate they are capable of incorporating Longview’s future development but neither the current wastewater nor the drinking water networks have the capacity for an additional 465 dwellings.

“We’re not against development [but] we are concerned about the infrastructure,” Cherilyn said, especially regarding the delay to upgrade the Project Pure wastewater treatment plant and to improve drinking water.

“We’ve had a lot of frustration trying to get answers out of the council on Project Pure, drinking water, and so on,” she said.

UD will provide a separate wastewater pipeline to connect Longview to Project Pure and it will investigate, design and construct the infrastructure upgrades of the existing Hawea Bore Pump Station and Treatment Plant needed to sufficiently support Longview’s development.

A traffic assessment conducted in 2018 indicated there’s adequate capacity in the existing road network to accommodate an increase in residential traffic and the commission received a letter in evidence from the New Zealand Transport Agency confirming no upgrades of the existing state highway network are necessary to cater for the development.

The HCA takes a different view, raising concern about the capacity of the two lane intersection at the Lake Hāwea dam and SH6 to cope with additional car numbers from the Longview development, along with other surrounding roads. 

“Not a lot of forethought has been put into the roading intersections,” Cherilyn said.

However, David Whitney said: “The Commission is satisfied that sufficient and appropriate in-ground and roading infrastructure will be provided to support the proposal albeit that a temporary solution is proposed with respect to wastewater storage and truck transfer until such time as a trunk wastewater connection is provided to Project Pure.” 

UD will also contribute to the cost of extending Capell Avenue through to Cemetery Road as it is considered likely to become an important traffic route between Longview and Lake Hāwea.

Cherilyn said the HCA’s concerns about Longview’s development, as well as an application to extend Lake Hāwea’s urban boundary to Domain Road, will be discussed further at an HCA meeting on January 23. 

“At the end of the day there will be people in affordable housing out there [at Longview] and they will be part of the community and will be welcomed,” Cherilyn said.