The Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board (WUCCB) debated the issue of removing up to 70 mature trees from the Wānaka golf course to make way for the club’s proposed reservoir but was unable to make a decision at yesterday’s (Thursday, March 30) meeting in Lake Hāwea.

Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) parks and open spaces planning manager recommended the removal of 70 exotic trees, including 49 wilding conifers, and their replacement with 140 native trees, but after lengthy discussions four of the five WUCCB members voted instead to postpone the decision.

Only five of the seven board members took part in the debate as two, Lyal Cocks and Cody Tucker, advised they were golf club members and declared a conflict of interest.

Most of the remaining board members appeared to support the removal of the trees but raised a number of concerns, including the lengthy three year time frame suggested for the planting of replacement trees, their proposed locations and the grade of tree, and a lack of a wilding pine action plan for the golf course’s other hundreds of wilding pines.

Their concerns were sufficient that board chair Simon Telfer recommended the issue be left on the table until further information could be provided which would give the board “more confidence to make the decision”.

Deputy mayor Quentin Smith (who is not a member of the WUCCB) took the opportunity to raise concerns about the Golf Club’s proposed reservoir, which he said was a “substantial piece of infrastructure”, with capacity for 17 million litres of water. He said the board should not look at the issue of the trees “in isolation” from the wider context of the reserve.

The public was invited to share feedback on the proposal to remove the trees and the council received 33 public submissions which indicated more submitters supported the club’s plan to remove the trees than those who opposed or were neutral.

Many of those against the tree removal referred to the loss of the carbon sequestered in mature trees and the long-term detrimental impact that had on the climate, as well as the loss of habitat for “bugs and birds”. 

While the council’s two-for-one tree replacement policy was beneficial, they said, it would take decades for new trees to develop to replace the carbon storage capacity and habitat.

Those in favour of their removal pointed to carbon sequestered in hundreds of mature trees planted throughout the course and along its boundaries, and the importance of the reservoir for the long-term sustainability of the club’s water resources.

One submitter supported the trees’ removal on the basis “the proposed reservoir offers significant opportunities for the planting of new species, particularly native trees… [and] the opportunity to create a new valuable, bio diverse ecosystem”. 

The reservoir ponds will allow for more efficient use of the club’s water allocation by providing greater flexibility to better manage the course’s irrigation all year round, Wānaka Golf Club (WGC) board of directors chair David Smallbone said. The ponds will be landscaped with an additional 250 plants.

The 140 replacement trees will be a selected mix approved by the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) and their planting location will be outlined in an agreed tree planting management plan, council parks staff said. 

The WGC’s back nine holes are established on Crown land, gifted for the purpose of playing golf, and leased by the club. The lease agreement allows the club to develop the golf course but any improvements must be approved by the QLDC which administers the lease on behalf of the Crown.

Council staff will respond to the board’s concerns and report at the board’s next meeting in May when the decision on the trees’ removal will be revisited.

Meanwhile, the WGC’s resource consent application to build the water reservoir (comprising two interconnected ponds), north-east of the Ballantyne/Golf Course Roads intersection, has been approved in principle but not issued. The removal of the trees cannot begin until the club obtains the resource consent.

PHOTO: Wānaka App