The Wanaka Sun

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the best and most read weekly newspaper in wanaka

Thur 16.06.11 - wed 22.06.11

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inside:

Happy Matariki materiki 1?

Skate park funded page 2

Charlotte Trundle

Yarn bombs away

Morethan400peoplecelebrated Matariki (the Maori New Year) on Wanaka’s lakefront on Saturday. The free celebration,

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organised by Kahu Youth, included a hangi, spit roast, a bonfire on the beach, workshops, Kapa Haka performances from Wanaka Primary School students and music from Mount Aspiring

College students. The hangi was a highlight of the evening with three sheep, 15 chickens, a pig and loads of veggies supplied from local businesses. “It went better than we hoped

for,” Kahu Youth organiser Richard Elvey said. “It was a real community event. One hundred percent of the people had a brilliant time.” Kahu Youth is already planning next year’s event.

Fire poi dancers, from left, Renee Hadlow and Enger Pelosi-Fear perform at the Kahu Youth Matariki celebrations last Saturday. PHOTO: mark lapwood acs

Future proofing or dreaming? Sue Wards

Wheels join warbirds page 5

Charity catwalk page 6

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www.thewanakasun.co.nz

Wanaka airport runs the risk of becoming “a retirement village full of Piper Cherokees” if the council does not protect it for future expansion, Wanaka Chamber of Commerce president Leigh Stock said this week. While the airport’s current focus is on general aviation, with only two scheduled domestic airline flights per day, Wanaka Chamber of Commerce spokesperson John Beattie told commissioners at a Queenstown Lakes District Council hearings panel this week the airport should become the future principal regional airport at night-time, with evening flights from Asia among the

options (Queenstown Airport is prohibited from operating later than 10pm under District Plan rules). “The issue at question for us is the ability for future generations to expand the airport,” Leigh Stock told the Wanaka Sun. If planners only look at the next 20 years, he said, “We’ll end up with a retirement village full of Piper Cherokees out at the airport.” While the future growth may not happen, we must not limit the options, he said. “That is what a forward-thinking chamber is trying to do.” Commissioners Bob Batty and Stephen Chiles are considering changes to land-use designations and district plan regulations which govern Wanaka airport. The

commissioners heard evidence this week from the Chamber of Commerce, the Wanaka Airport Users Group, the Wanaka Airport Management Committee, Air New Zealand, aviation consultants and

Wanaka Airport Management Committee chairman Leigh Overton said the proposed changes would ensure Wanaka Airport remains unconstrained by surrounding land uses, unlike Queenstown Airport

We’ll end up with a retirement village full of Piper Cherokees out at the airport. affected landowners. The Wanaka Airport Users Group spokesperson Simon Spencer-Bower told the panel the council should look at the big picture and put what is needed in place to protect the airport for future growth. QLDC councillor and

which now faces significant constraints to expansion. However Air New Zealand infrastructure strategy manager Eric Morgan told the panel he was not confident the airport would expand as growth forecasts suggested. Air New Zealand had reduced its flights

into Wanaka because the growth had been less than the cost of providing additional services. Airport designer Iain Munro of Airbiz Aviation Strategies Ltd said the 2010 revised growth projections were considerably less than the 2008 projections and there is no justification for providing beyond 20 years’ growth. The proposed changes to the airport include a runway extension and runway end safety area, a new passenger terminal and control tower, redesignation of 139ha for aerodrome purposes, a noise management and control programme, and compliance with Civil Aviation rules regarding building heights and hazards in navigable airspaces.


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