Consent first

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 548, 9 August 1994, Page 10 (Supplement)

Consent first

Before building the new lift Turoa had to convince the Ruapehu District Council that it fitted the requirements of the Resource Management Act. Turoa explained that the lift would provide intermediate and beginner skiers with safer, quality skiing; enable the resort to open sooner and close later and thus benefit the local community by providing more employment

opportunities in service industries for longer periods; provide rapid access to parts of the skifield for ski patrol to attend accidents; alleviate congestion on the slopes. Urgency A decision was urgent because construction had to be completed by May to avoid the ice period. They said that the proposed chairlift was vital to the continued viability of the Ski Resort following three poor snow seasons from which they were still recovering. The RSBA supported Turoa because anadditional lift would increase skier patronage which would have beneficial flow-on effects for the area. Concerns Submissions against the application were heard from Ross Wallis and Robert Grey on behalf of the Ngati Rangi Trust. "The question of 'legal title' to the land upon which the proposed development is to take place is in dispute. Ngati Rangi consider that consent to this application could be prejudicial to its present and future claims to the legal title of their ancestral lands." The council' s town planner said "It is difficult to see how constructing the additional chairlift would affect the ownership issue which must follow a separate procedure and be resolved outside'the process of the Resource Management Act." Turoa submitted that the consent was not a land ownership issue.