Green light for Wooing Tree development

The Wooing Tree vineyard site. Photo: Supplied

The way has been cleared for Cromwell's Wooing Tree vineyard to be turned into an intensive residential subdivision, after a plan change that would allow the subdivision has been signed off.

It follows the resolution of mediation following an appeal to the Environment Court about plan change 12, to rezone 25.4ha of land at Wooing Tree to allow intensive residential development.

The Central Otago District Council hearings panel held a hearing into the plan change in November 2017 and released its decision in February 2018, allowing the plan change, with conditions.

Bill Dunbar

But a group of submitters - Lakefield Estate Unincorporated Group - opposed the decision and mediation was held.

Council planning consultant David Whitney told the council's planning and environment committee yesterday the mediation had been resolved.

The committee therefore approved the plan change, which will then become operative on February 20.

A representative from Wooing Tree could not be contacted yesterday.

But a report from Vivian + Espie on behalf of the applicant during the 2017 hearing said the proposal would provide a ''carefully planned development that maintains and enhances community wellbeing, and retains areas of green space''.

The development then proposed for the Wooing Tree site was for a mix of section sizes, including lots of 1000sqm, 400sqm and 250sqm.

An area for retail activity and/or travellers' accommodation in a business resource area was also proposed.

In his report to the planning and environment committee, Mr Whitney said the appeal was settled mainly by amendments to the Wooing Tree subdivision along the boundary with the adjacent Lakefield Estate subdivision.

A spokesman for the Lakefield Estate appellants, Bill Dunbar, said the amendments included larger section sizes along the Lakefield Estate boundary, and the amended proposal ''suits us much better than the original proposal''.

Mr Dunbar said Wooing Tree directors had been ''understanding'' and ''amicable'' and agreed to ''virtually all the requirements that we put to them''.
pam.jones@odt.co.nz