It’s easy to overlook how important the recent resource consent approval for the Wānaka Health Precinct is for improving regional access to health services. 

Surprisingly, there is nowhere in Wānaka where a hospital can be built as of right. I guess it speaks to a lack of vision on behalf of our civic leaders that there is no designated area for such an essential piece of local infrastructure, but that’s the reality. So the first question Roa had to answer was - can we build it here? Thankfully we now know the answer is yes.

Remarkably we achieved consent with unanimous community support. Seventeen submissions were made in response to our application and every one of them was positive – something that’s pretty unheard of for a development of this significance. I wrote to each of the submitters personally to thank them for their support, but this is a chance to do so publicly. Thanks for backing us, and thanks for helping us deliver better healthcare access for our community.

So, what happens next? Firstly, a reminder of what makes up the Wānaka Health Precinct. It consists of a hospital, four commercial buildings for medical tenants, and a carpark. The next step is to get started on site works for the stage one buildings – that is the first two of the four commercial buildings fronting Sir Tim Wallis Drive. 

If you’re thinking that a couple of commercial buildings won’t deliver more healthcare for Wānaka in the short term, let me explain. These buildings are specifically for healthcare related activities - the terms of our consent ensure this. That means the buildings will provide medical consulting suites, treatment rooms and even day surgery. We are already at various stages of lease commitment with a range of medical providers, with some of the strongest interest coming from oncology, endoscopy and medical imaging services. 

The Wānaka Health Precinct is attracting new medical specialties to this town because it’s a unique opportunity for them to establish their practices immediately adjacent to an approved hospital site and within a broader health campus. What that means for the people of Wānaka and Upper Clutha is that the day is getting nearer when we no longer have to travel for hours to access medical services other New Zealanders take for granted.