The last remaining strip of Scurr Heights land is likely to be sold by Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) following the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board’s (WUCCB) decision to recommend the sale.

Sale of the bulk of the council-owned land in 2016 raised $15.6M for the Wānaka Asset Sale Reserve Fund, which is used to fund capital expenditure which benefits the residents of the Wānaka ward. 

Following expenditure on the Wānaka Recreation Centre swimming pool, a contribution to the purchase of the Mt Iron Recreation Reserve and the new Paetara/Aspiring Central Youth Centre, and contributions to the Luggate Hall and Wānaka Community Hub, the fund now sits at around $3.4M.

Sale of the remaining 1.8 hectares of Scurr Heights land, adjacent to Wānaka Primary School, would boost the fund.

WUCCB member and QLDC councillor Lyal Cocks said he and others had considered the possibility the land could be used for social housing, but he now supported the recommendation to put the land on the market to “get the best value we can for our endowment fund and the community to spend on assets for the next generation.”

Lyal said it was “a balancing act” between the value of the land for social housing and the value the community could get from the land being subdivided.

The WUCCB considered the future of the land at a meeting yesterday (Thursday March 27) and some board members raised concerns about access to the land, which is via Ironside Drive, a cul-de-sac that predominantly services Wānaka Primary School. 

Councillor Barry Bruce suggested that council could make developers’ proposals on access part of the sale process given the limited access and close proximity to the school.

But council staffers said the land would need to be sold to the highest bidder on the open market, with Proposed District Plan (PDP) requirements determining how it would be developed.

The land is zoned medium density residential under the PDP, which allows one residential unit per 250sqm net site area.

WUCCB chair Simon Telfer said there was a trade-off in that the property’s sale would also lead to a great deal of traffic movement directly outside Wānaka Primary School.

The land was originally two parcels of land acquired by QLDC, with the first being former Crown land purchased in 1988, and the second part former Ngāi Tahu land purchased in September 2000. 

QLDC councillors will still need to approve the sale before the process to sell it begins.

PHOTO: Wānaka App