Tourism operator left dangling

By JO-MARIE BROWN

TAUPO - A "minor oversight" by the Taupo District Council will hold up six years of planning that has already cost a local adventure tourism operator more than $2 million.

Taupo Bungy wants to expand its existing facilities on the Riverbank Recreation Reserve, by Spa Rd, to include a giant swing, a flying fox and a cafe to help keep pace with the national tourism market.

Director Alastair Macdonald said the company put its plans on hold several years ago so the council could develop a comprehensive management plan for the area first.

However, the Department of Conservation, which had to approve part of the plan, says the document on which the council has been working for six years may be invalid because the scenic reserve land involved was not properly classified under the Reserves Act 1977.

The department also declined to approve the plan because the proposed cafe and carpark extensions planned for the scenic reserve land did not comply with the act.

Mr Macdonald estimated that Taupo Bungy had lost more than $2 million by agreeing to wait for the plan to be completed before proceeding with its developments.

Environmental Management Services consultant Mark Chrisp, who had been following the plan's development on behalf of Taupo Bungy, said the six-year wait was "hugely frustrating" and his client had spent a further $200,000 to make submissions.

Council parks and recreation manager Barry Hickling said the classification mistake was a minor oversight made in 1989, when the land concerned was first acquired under the Public Works Act.

While the error would be costly, said Mr Hickling, it was unlikely to have been picked up during the planning process.

"We wouldn't have picked it up. It would take a lawyer to pick it up and we don't normally go into that finer detail.

"It's one of those unfortunate things."

The council was currently taking legal advice on how the plan could proceed and Mr Hickling hoped a report would be completed by August.

Meanwhile, Mr Chrisp said Taupo Bungy had given up waiting for the plan and had applied for council permission to build the giant swing.

"We have been extremely tolerant but there comes a point where tolerance wears thin. Taupo's economic future is largely dependent on the tourist industry and we can't keep tolerating these delays while places like Queenstown rocket ahead."