A Wanaka landowner told a hearings panel this week he had been waiting 15 years to address an Environment Court decision that placed what he says are tough restrictions on what can be done with the land he owns.
Hawthenden Ltd, owned by brothers Owen and Eric Hopgood, have made two submissions to the Queenstown Lakes District proposed district plan that could add up to 70 more sections to the western edge of the Wanaka township.
The brothers have owned the 229ha Hawthenden farm at the base of the Alpha Range since buying it off the Studholme family in 1994.
Commissioners Calum MacLeod, Ian Munro and Trevor Robinson heard evidence on the submission on Wednesday. One submission asked for an outstanding natural landscape (ONL) line that runs through the farm's upper terrace to be realigned further up the side of the Mt Alpha range.
Set during a 2002 Environment Court hearing, the ONL line protects an alluvial fan, known as the Alpha Fan, from development. It is visible from the Wanaka township and other landmarks such as Mt Iron and the Wanaka War Memorial.