A $43,000 fence is being constructed along a section of lakeside reserve adjacent to Mt Aspiring Road, following concerns raised by a member of the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board (WUCCB).

WUCCB board chair Simon Telfer told the Wānaka App that board member Linda Joll and Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) parks staff had raised concerns about the health of trees along the area - from Stoney Creek to McDougall Street - under which vehicles can park.

Simon said the concerns were sufficiently “urgent” that the fence was built before any consultation takes place on what he called ‘stage six’of the Lakefront Development Plan (LTD).

“Over time we have seen an increasing number of vehicles parking on the Reserve, particularly on the newly seeded grass at the Wānaka Watersports facility and up by the wagon wheel,” he said.

“This reduces the enjoyment of the reserve as an unencumbered green space and causes root damage to trees, particularly the beautiful oaks.

“It is well known that vehicle storage under trees compresses root structures which can lead to permanent tree damage. Once damage occurs it is very difficult to reverse.”

Simon said the fencing is consistent with fencing at Pembroke Park, Kelly Flat, and other reserves.

He said the board had no plans to block access to the gravel road which runs alongside the lake on part of the reserve, as the intention “is to prevent parking on the grassed areas at this stage”.

“A number of gaps in the fencing will allow easy crossing from the showgrounds across to the lake.”

Simon said the WUCCB asked council staff at a recent workshop to do “some high level planning for the lakefront” from the McDougall St toilet block to the Wānaka Watersports facility, which is next to the Stoney Creek carpark.

“Our request was for the more informal and relaxed nature of that section of the lakefront to be retained.”

Simon said there is a lack of ‘wayfinding’ from McDougall Street towards Stoney Creek, and a pathway consistent with the existing path from Dungarvon Street to McDougall Street is needed.

He said the section from McDougall Street to Stoney Creek will be “a new stage 6” of the LDP, which “goes all the way around the lakefront”.

“It's very early days looking at stage 6... We would like to see progress but it is not urgent.”

Adopted in 2016, the Lakefront Development Plan’s purpose was to formalise pedestrian/cycle access to Wānaka’s foreshore along the Roys Bay reserve.

It was designed in five stages stretching from McDougall Street to the Wānaka Marina and aimed to relocate parking from the foreshore into established car parks opening up the foreshore reserve to public access and providing toilets, seating, tables and so on.

Stage 4 opposite Wānaka’s CBD (from Dungarvon Street to the Dinosaur Park) is yet to be completed.

A QLDC spokesperson said the bollard fencing is associated with a range of works along the lakefront near the Wānaka Watersports Facility carpark, including remediation of the grassy reserve area, defining the carpark boundary area with rocks, and fencing to protect specific areas from carparking.

Funding for the fence was allocated from the unspent portion of the $432K Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF) Round 5 awarded by MBIE for the development of the Stoney Creek carpark.

PHOTO: Wānaka App