The Wānaka Golf Club (WGC) has struck a deal with a Wānaka developer which will compensate it for the loss of a strategic shelterbelt.
Trees along the 17th and 18th hole boundary of the golf course will be removed, following a protracted negotiation between the club and local developer Allan Dippie.
The decision follows six years of board consideration and negotiations with Allan’s company Three Parks Properties Limited (TPPL), after Allan asked for removal of the trees, which block sun and views from his residential area under development.
The agreement will see approximately 650 wilding conifers removed from the 750-metre boundary line.
In return, TPPL will cover all costs for removal, landscaping redesign, rabbit-proof fencing, replanting two trees for every one removed, including re-landscaping and maintaining the new boundary plantings, plus irrigation, the WGC said.
As part of the deal, TPPL will also fund an improved driveway for greenkeeper access, and commit to a three-year sponsorship package for the club.
The Wānaka App understands the club was concerned about ball strike risk with the tree removal, and the deal includes landscaping to mitigate this risk.
A covenant will be registered against adjacent land (which will include new retirement village Metlifecare), permanently waiving any rights to lodge complaints about golf balls entering their properties within a 50-metre setback from the club boundary.
WGC board chair Terry Carr said the decision to remove the trees “ensures the club’s future viability and removes a potential significant financial burden if we were required to remove the trees ourselves”.
The club will lodge a resource consent application to remove the trees.
PHOTO: Wānaka Golf Club
