Commissioners 'shocked' at visibility of billionaire Peter Thiel's Wānaka luxury lodge plans
From reporter Debbie Jamieson:
US billionaire Peter Thiel’s proposed Wānaka luxury lodge has been rejected, after commissioners were shocked to find it would be plainly visible from a nationally-recognised walkway.
They turned down his plans due to the “significant adverse landscape and visual effects” it would have on the sensitive environment.
Thiel’s company Second Star Ltd proposed building a lodge on a 193-hectare section at Damper Bay to accommodate up to 30 guests across three buildings.
Three independent commissioners, on behalf of the Queenstown Lakes District Council, made the decision.
The site was classified as an Outstanding Natural Landscape (ONL), which meant it could accommodate only a small-scale of development, the decision says.
The proposed development would be clearly visible from the Glendhu Bay track, which is part of the national Te Araroa trail.
Commissioners walked along the trail and were “shocked” by how often the lodge would be in plain view, including a continuous length of 1-2 storeys of glass walls.
“The commission did not see the re-vegetation area likely to provide any visual screening effect of note,” the decision says.
The commissioners found the positive effects for the local Wānaka economy and ecology of the area did not offset the adverse effects.
A public hearing was held on the proposal in May, when Thiel’s legal team failed to convince a Queenstown Lakes District Council planner to change her opposition to the plan.
Environmental groups and some neighbours also opposed.
After the hearing, plans for a meditation pod at the lodge were dropped in an effort to win approval.
The proposed lodge would sit near the centre of some of Wānaka’s most intensely debated and sought-after landscapes.
It has been designed by Tokyo Olympic Stadium architect Kengo Kuma and Associates.
It would be set into the landscape, with “green” roofs covered with plants.
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