Stage two of Wānaka’s lakefront development plan (LDP) is on schedule, council staff say, and with 70 percent of the first portion of the work completed, they hope the project will remain on track with Ardmore Street reopening to two way traffic by mid-August.

Lower Ardmore Street adjacent to Pembroke Park has been closed to traffic since April 11 when the five month construction of the LDP beside Roy’s Bay began. 

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) communication advisor Campbell Weal said while the project is still only expected to take five months in total, the work will be split into two portions.

This means Ardmore Street will reopen to two lanes of traffic in August for a month, but then one lane will be closed for another month (from mid-September to mid-October) for the final work to be completed when the weather improves to support the landscaping and road sealing, he said.  

The project will provide 110 right-angled car parks plus four mobility parks along the foreshore, to replace the 120 original foreshore car parks.

Lower Ardmore Street beside Pembroke Park has been closed to traffic since early April. PHOTO: Wānaka App

The revamp doesn’t include crossing points from Pembroke Park to the foreshore.

The plan also includes a four metre wide promenade (alongside which will sit new tiles which will replace the former 650m tiled path that celebrated the new millennium), seating, feature gardens and a tiled map. Council communication staff were unable to advise the subject of the map at short notice.

A working group of Wānaka locals, including historians, council staff, a Wānaka Community Board representative and mana whenua, have worked many hours to rewrite the tiles “to include more of the history of Wānaka, the Upper Clutha and its people,” Campbell said.

He said the tiled pathway would be revealed only after it was laid but added that council hoped some of the tiles might be displayed before then at the QLDC’s Ardmore Street office in August.  

Council’s stage two plans include 114 new car parks. IMAGE: QLDC

Members of the working group volunteered their contributions; Ngāi Tahu was paid for advisory services; and QLDC is currently considering a donation to the Upper Clutha Historical Records Society for its time and assistance, Campbell said.

As well as the closed street, a significant portion of Pembroke Park, adjacent to Ardmore Street, has been fenced off for the stage two construction. Campbell said the park will be reinstated but the long-awaited sealed path, completing a full pedestrian loop of Pembroke Park, is not included in this project. 

Stage two’s initial plans were approved by the Wānaka Community Board in November 2020 with a budget of $2.8M. 

By the time final detailed designs were completed and approved 18 months later the budget had escalated to over $4.14M.

Campbell said the project is “currently tracking” to this budget.