A $30 million development at the junction of State Highway 84 and SH6 is still a possibility according to Mt Iron Junction co-owner Steve Schikker, despite a resource consent application being declined earlier in the year.

Schikker was in mediation with the Queenstown Lakes District Council over his company's development proposal which included building a service station, workers accommodation, terrace housing, mini-golf facility and a child care centre.

After a hearing in February, the company's proposal was declined because the land was zoned rural general and the landscape changes would be more than minor.

But Schikker said that despite the slow progress he could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Where are you at now? 

Nothing has happened in the last month or two. We applied to the Environment Court, and part of that process was to go to mediation. We had mediation about two months ago, and now we are working through the terms of consent which is always a little bit tricky. You have an idea what was said in mediation then the Council has an idea, and it's a matter of finding the middle ground of what they thought was said and what we thought was said.

So the upside is we put all our revised plans into the Council, and we are about to have a meeting with them.

So what is the hold-up?

It is down to landscape stuff. What trees go where and what visuals they want.

We are just trying to work out what they (the Council) will accept and what would be sensible for us.

We have had to compromise- you can read into that that we have had to chop out stuff. And the Council has had to accept things.

There were parts we had to take out because the Council didn't find it acceptable. And parts we insisted should stay in there.

We are getting there, but the Council can be very pedantic. It's not until the final I's are dotted and T's crossed that we can come out and say it's done.

What happens if you can't resolve things with the Council?

If we can't get a final resolution with the Council, we will have to go to the Environment Court which would be so silly because we would be fighting stuff that's just ridiculous. 

We have got through the big stuff; it's just sorting out the little stuff.

Read edition 1003 of the Wānaka Sun here.

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