Ski-field must be replanned

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34131, 19 April 1976, Page 5

Ski-field must be replanned

(trom Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON. The Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Company. Ltd, has been told, in effect, to start all over again in its plans for a ski-field in the Remarkables. The Commission for the Environment, in its environmental impact audit on the scheme, recommended that because important aspects of the proposal required further investigation of possible alternatives and the detailed planning of appropnare environmental safeguards, the scheme should not g<. ahead in the form described. The commission says that when the proposal goes before the Land Settlement Board again, the board should consider four matters: The over-all need for further alpine tourist and skifield facilities on Crown land in the Southern Lakes region; The intrinsic suitability of the Rastus Burn basin for development as a skifield;

Other potential recreational uses and water and soil conservation requirements in the area; Any potentially viable skifield or access alternatives. “Should the board consider approving in principle the leasing of land for the proposal, then before finalising any lease, and before any further investigations and road construction begins, planning should be undertaken by the company,’’ the commission said. The potential environmental consequences had not been adequately identified in the company’s environmental impact report. The potential instability and visual impacts of sections of the access road warranted further investigation of the feasibility of alternative road access. Any prior approval of the company’s proposal should be conditional on its preparation of a comprehensive road and ski-field development plan. This plan should cover the total development of the access road and skifield facilities in the Rastus Burn and Doolan’s Creek area, and their management.