Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is one step closer to finalising a new bylaw on the rules governing use of the district’s lakes and rivers.

Last Monday (November 25) the Navigation Safety Bylaw 2025 hearing panel listened to the two-dozen-or-so submitters who shared their views on the draft bylaw.

A few days later the panel (made up of deputy mayor Quentin Smith and councillors Cody Tucker and Gavin Bartlett) met again to make amendments to the draft bylaw.

While the bylaw won’t be finalised until it is approved by councillors, the hearing panel’s deliberations give an indication where it may be heading.

Opposition to proposals to reduce the number of ski lanes on Lake Wānaka had dominated submitter feedback, but the staff who drafted the bylaw cited safety risks caused by having swimmers and powered vessels in close proximity.

The hearing panel discussed ski lanes at length and tried to find a middle ground.

They decided to recommend retaining the Roys Bay ski lane adjacent to Pembroke Park, but added a closure period from the start of December until the end of March to account for the very busy summer period.

A closure period had been trialled last summer, the panel noted.

At Eely Point - another extremely popular location for waterskiing - they recommended retaining water ski access but, instead of a wide ski lane, opted for a reconfigured, narrower access lane with a launch lane, which would leave more space for swimmers.

The hearing panel also recommended ski lanes at Waterfall Creek, Glendhu Bay and Dublin Bay should be retained (some with some minor changes), and said the single ski lane in Hāwea should be moved east towards the Esplanade Reserve based on submitter feedback.

The hearing panel recommended a similar light-handed approach for ski lanes at Lake Whakatipu.

Full details of the hearing panel’s recommendations (which will also cover other aspects of the draft bylaw) will be presented to councillors for adoption at the full council meeting on March 20, 2025.

PHOTO: Wānaka App