Otago Regional Council (ORC) is expanding its facilities on Riverbank Road. 

The council has received approval to construct a commercial building and ablutions block and install five water tanks, plus retrospective consent for a shipping container.

ORC support services manager Catherine Harper said the additions would support the growing number of people who work at the site.

“For the existing building used by ORC staff, the resource consent application was to support a slight increase in footprint to support staff capacity, and adding amenities to the building [like] toilet and kitchen/break facilities…” she said. 

“...the current amenities in the old building are insufficient for the number of our staff and WAI Wānaka staff now on site.”

The site currently features two commercial buildings.

They are located at 185 Riverbank Road, near the intersection with Ballantyne Road.

Catherine said the application also provided the opportunity to consent an existing storage container on the site “and upgrade the amount of water storage on site to meet fire safety requirements”. 

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has approved the ORC’s application on a non-notified basis. 

“Detailed planning on this building upgrade is yet to begin,” Catherine said.

PHOTO: Wānaka App