Waka Kotahi - 'sabotaging growth' after it opposes massive housing development
A growing Central Otago town may be denied a 500 section development, after Waka Kotahi cited concerns over climate change and the lack of public transport.
But that position has angered outspoken Otago Regional Council councillor, Michael Laws, who lives in Cromwell.
‘’Waka Kotahi are sabotaging growth in Central Otago and the likes,’’ he said on Thursday, the same day as submissions to the Central Otago District Council closed.
‘’This is something that will benefit our entire region.’’
About 10km west of Cromwell, company Fulton Hogan plans to rezone about 118ha of a former quarry into a 90ha residential area, including a 5ha business park and 22ha industrial area.
But a major road block for that development is the position taken by Waka Kotahi, which partly funds public transport in Queenstown and Dunedin – but not in Central Otago – one of the fastest-growing regions in the country.
Read the full story from reporters Joanne Naish and Hamish McNeilly here (subscription required).
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