Whilst Wānaka's Northlake residents are licking their wounds over their failed bid to stop Winton's hotel in their suburban neighbourhood, Central Otago District Council has announced their decision to decline Plan Change 13 that would have seen River Terrace Developments Limited (a company of Winton) rezone 50 hectares of rural land off State Highway 6 in Cromwell for a new urban development.

The $400k cost of the plan change hearing is under debate with Winton refusing to pay. CODC previously said they would not release their decision until payment was received. However, CODC said , “[We have] worked exhaustively to try and recover outstanding processing costs from River Terrace Developments Limited relating to the Plan Change 13 application. To date, those efforts have not been successful.”  

Earlier this month, CODC received a formal objection to the costs of processing the Plan Change 13 request from River Terrace Developments Limited. The Council agreed to grant an extension providing a legal undertaking with respect to the holding of those funds and conditions for their release and payment upon the objection to fees being determined. “This request was made so that ratepayers had assurance that they wouldn't need to foot the bill for a private developer's application if it were defaulted upon. River Terraces Developments Limited has declined to give that undertaking,” said CODC. 

“We will continue to make every effort to ensure that the processing fees are paid once the outcome of the objection is known. However, on balance, we consider further action at this stage is not in the community interest and would likely also incur significant cost to the ratepayer. We have therefore decided to release the decision.”

Niamh Shaw who led the charge against Winton's hotel in Northlake, said, “I am delighted for the Cromwell community. It was great to see CODC come in behind their community because they put in a submission themselves; they really stood up for their community. Ultimately, this is a big outcome for Cromwell because the plan changes is where the real damage gets done.”

Shaw also said, “Had this been approved, residents would have been bound by the same no objection clauses as Northlake, so therefore we are very happy for Cromwell.”