A good proportion of the 300-household Luggate village turned out to two meetings this past week to plan for the community’s future.

Community organisation Shaping Our Future facilitated two sessions at Luggate’s new memorial hall, Whare Mahana, asking more than 100 people to list their concerns and aspirations for the community.

Luggate Community Association (LCA) chair Rod Anderson told the Wānaka App the turnout was pleasing and the event “all positive”.

“It was really good to see the variety of people who came, young and old - there were a lot of people I’d never seen in my life,” he said. “A lot of people had never been to the hall.”

“Probably the top of the list [of concerns] would be our water. Apart from that there was a wide range of things spoken about and suggested.”

Water woes

SOF’s John Glover said there were “great conversations” at both sessions, and the feedback had been that people found the exercise enjoyable.

“The big issue is definitely the availability of the water supply. People are living with memories of restrictions from last summer; they say they are living in the hottest, driest part of the district,” he said.

Water availability is a big concern The township’s water supply borehead is pictured.

Meanwhile, council’s plans to improve water infrastructure have been “pushed back down the line”.

Rod said the new subdivision going in means “more pressure on the water”.

“The disappointing thing is the bores are in place, it’s only a matter of putting the pumps and infrastructure into the old scheme,” he said.

“Now [council] are saying 2027 [for completion], but it could just as easily be 2029.”

He said QLDC has acknowledged that Luggate is a semi-arid area, yet it still expects householders to maintain a green lawn to mitigate serious fire danger.

Rod said while the council pours money into leaky homes settlements, and “lots of things being done in Wānaka in the ‘nice to have’ category”, Luggate is asking for work “on things we need”.

Commercial, educational and recreational opportunities

John said Luggate locals said they would “really like a commercial heart to the community”, and many are seeking more commercial opportunities.

Meanwhile there are also concerns about the speed of traffic through Luggate on SH6. While the speed limit is 50kph (and there is a speed camera highlighting if people are travelling faster than that), John said: “It seems faster through there, and there’s no pedestrian crossing”.

The current version of the QLDC District Plan allows for approximately 400 more houses in Luggate, and John said people raised the issue of schooling, including concerns about the Ministry of Education’s proposal to move Hāwea Flat School (which primary-school aged children from Luggate attend) to Lake Hāwea. 

“There used to be a school in Luggate, and there may be potential for one in the future,” John said.

He said locals would also like more parks and recreational facilities, and access walking and biking tracks.  

Hall, tennis courts, playground

Rod said while he doesn’t think hire costs for Luggate’s new hall are too expensive, the new booking system through the Wānaka council office is “just a bloody hassle”.

He said the community doesn’t necessarily need two tennis courts, but it does need a hard court area (the equivalent size of the ones which were removed to allow construction of the new hall) for skateboarding and other recreational activities.

The township’s playground was also removed around the same time.

“Luggate is a fast growing community and the hall, the playground and recreation facilities are all essential infrastructure that the community needs,” QLDC deputy mayor Quentin Smith told the Wānaka App this week.

He said the playground’s removal was “unfortunate timing” but the equipment was assessed to be not fit for purpose.

“But council are working with the community and 100 percent committed to making good on the playground. It is currently in [the] design phase and we look forward to getting it sorted,” he said.  

Next steps

Rod said given all the suggestions made at the sessions it will be a “mammoth job” for SOF to collate everything.

“We’ve gathered huge amounts of information,” John said.

“We’ll end up with a group of about 15 or so from the community who will spend the next six months turning it into recommendations for action and a long-term vision.”

John said the group will meet near the end of August, and plan for a report to be released early next year.

“We will come back to the community,” he said.

PHOTOS: Wānaka App