Controversial $200m Queenstown hotel approved without public hearing

Wednesday, 3 July 2019

An image of the proposed $200 million hotel complex on Brecon St, in central Queenstown.

A proposal to build a $200 million Queenstown hotel complex has been approved, without a public hearing.

Developer Graham Wilkinson's company, Brecon St Partnership, wants to build two hotels with 393 rooms over seven storeys on Brecon St.

The piazza at the centre of a proposed hotel complex in central Queenstown.

The four buildings would include 12 ground floor commercial tenancies.

The proposed site houses an outdoor mini golf business. It is next to the central Queenstown cemetery, near Skyline gondola.

Developer Graham Wilkinson says there is no start date for construction.

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The plan had attracted nine submissions but a Queenstown Lakes District Council decision dated June 28 noted none of the nine submitters wished to be heard. The council did not consider a public hearing was necessary.

Submitters can appeal the council's decision to the Environment Court.

The consent is conditional on rules on regarding building heights, parking, construction and operational noise being met.

Wilkinson, who also developed and owns the St Moritz Hotel in Queenstown, said his company was still analysing what the conditions meant. He had not committed to a start date for construction.

'There are several technical areas we need to do further work on.'

It had taken more than two years to get the consent after he started working with council and its experts to design a project that would be accepted quickly.

The developers originally proposed a nine-storey, 468-room hotel and fought to have a council decision made without public input.

That was knocked back by the council and the plan for the smaller hotel was submitted, also with the intention of avoiding public notification.

The initial plan – which almost twice the permitted height limit – attracted considerable opposition, but the reduced option has won the support of neighbours such as Skyline, iFly and the leasee of the Queenstown Lakeview Holiday Park.

In February, commissioner Jan Caunter decided it should be publicly notified in and it attracted nine submissions, seven in support, one in support with conditions, and one in opposition.

In April, the company applied to have the resource consent application heard by the Environment Court instead of council 'to ensure an efficient decision-making process'.

Hundreds of new hotel beds are under construction or being proposed for Queenstown, including a 277-room Holiday Inn in the town centre, a 131-room Ramada Queenstown across the road, and a 400-room hotel on Gorge Rd.

Queenstown Lakes ratepayers have voted in favour a 5 per cent visitor levy for the district.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts said in April hoteliers all over New Zealand were facing a period of uncertainty, with increases in the minimum wage, the growing number of Airbnb properties and slowing tourism growth.