A proposed residential subdivision at the Otago Fish & Game Council’s Wānaka property will not impose on the Bullock Creek springs and wetlands.

Otago Fish & Game Council has applied for resource consent to subdivide its substantial Stone Street site into nine lots.

Six of these would be residential lots and the other three lots - which make up the majority of the site and include the wetlands - would “remain in the status quo”, application documents say.

If approved, the residential subdivisions on the site would be located at the northwest corner of the site, on flat land below the wetlands and the popular boardwalk and away from the flow of the creek. 

The proposal would not affect the Bullock Creek Hatchery Springs walkway, a boardwalk across the wetlands.

The subdivision and sale of part of the land would free up funds for other initiatives, Otago Fish & Game Council chief executive Ian Hadland told the Wānaka App.

“Otago Fish & Game Council, as a not for profit organisation, needs to manage its assets carefully and efficiently on behalf of angling and hunting licence holders,” Ian said.

He said the council had agreed that the “opened grass area of Central Wānaka land didn’t do that in its current form” and disposal of the assets and applying the funds elsewhere was “an appropriate and prudent option”.

Subdivision plans show the proposed residential lots (1-6) would be located on the northwestern edge of the property.

It also “puts the council in a good position to take up opportunities as they come up,” Ian said.

There was “no doubt” the 2.4ha+ of wetlands would be retained, he said, and a portion of proceeds from any sale would be dedicated to the ongoing restoration and protection of the spring and wetlands. 

Bullock Creek is spring-fed from the Cardrona aquifer and is an important nursery stream for brown and rainbow trout.

It runs from the Fish & Game site - an old hatchery - to the Alpha Series residential development in Meadowstone and on to Lake Wānaka.

Panels added at the popular walkway a couple of years ago provide interesting facts about Bullock Creek’s history.

The Bullock Creek Hatchery Springs Walkway, a 330m raised boardwalk across the wetlands, was publicly unveiled in 2018 after a collaborative effort by local residents and other agencies. 

More recently Friends of Bullock Creek (FOBC) added panels to the boardwalk which feature gems of historic information about the creek and its environs.

Otago Fish & Game Council’s resource consent application to subdivide the property is currently being considered by Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC).

PHOTOS: Wānaka App