The High Court will test the legal case of a former Wānaka couple who have claimed that Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) was obliged to offer them back land which was taken from them under the Public Works Act 1981.

The 20 hectares was acquired by QLDC under the Public Works Act, following compensation awarded by the Supreme Court in a 1977 judgment, QLDC told the Wānaka App.

The land was acquired for oxidation ponds.

Former landowners Angus and Dale Gordon are claiming that QLDC was obliged to offer the land back following the decommissioning of wastewater treatment facilities.

QLDC disputes this claim and maintains that the land has continuously been required for public use, most recently sports and recreation purposes.

The oxidation ponds were decommissioned around 2010 and the land remediated over the following years.

The land was rezoned to ‘active sport and recreation zone’ in 2021 during a District Plan review.

QLDC said the site “has been remediated and re-gazetted for sports and recreation, aligning with council’s established plans for a community sports hub”.

Councillors had expected the land to be levelled and sown with grass by the middle of 2026.

In 2022, QLDC’s legal department told the Otago Daily Times it considered there was a legal process which may be used to repurpose the land for sport and recreation.

When the ODT asked if the council had offered the land back to the Gordons, a council spokesperson said: "QLDC requires the land for another public work, namely sport and recreation, so there is no reason or need to ask the former landowner that question."

QLDC chief executive Mike Theelen said last month the council had filed its Statement of Defence and engaged specialist legal counsel to assist in defending the claim.

He said the council recognises there is a strong public interest in the site’s future as a sports hub, however any planning and investment decisions must be made carefully while proceedings are underway.

“The matter will proceed through the usual court process and therefore no further comment will be made until the proceedings have been concluded,” Mike said.

The legal proceedings concerning 101 Ballantyne Road are currently before the High Court in Invercargill.

PHOTO: Supplied