Permit issued for Mt Cook hostel

Press, 3 December 1985, Page 27

Permit issued for Mt Cook hostel

A building permit for the planned new youth hostel at Mount Cook has now been approved by the Mackenzie County CounciL The council had earlier withheld the issuing of the pennit because of potential flooding at the hostel’s site at the Black Birch Fan area. The permit is still subject to any conclusions arising from a flood protection review of the area, which is being conducted by the Lands and Survey Department A certificate of occupancy will not be issued by the Mackenzie County Council until the flood protection work recommended by the review is done to the satisfaction of the council A meeting of the Y.H-A.’s national executive decided to proceed with the project

as planned in spite of the delays. The chief, executive officer, Mr Ray Keall, said that the time of, the project’s completion will depend on the completion of the flood protection work, which the association hopes can be completed as quickly as possible. The association had hoped to lay the foundation stone for the $450,000 hostel earlier this month. The project was to have been the association’s contribution to the International Year of Youth. In the meantime the association plans to open 18 extra hostels this summer to cope with the expected demand from young travellers. A permanent chain of 39 hostels is supplemented by the extra hostels in the summer.

At the peak of the summer season YJSLA. provides an extra 800 beds to cater for up to 2200 travellers a night throughout New Zealand. Last year, more than 8000 people stayed at the summer hostels, and 154,000 people stayed at the main youth hostels. Summer hostels have already opened at Wanganui, Palmerston North, Pigeon Bay and Oamaru. Hostels in Picton, Motaeka, Takaka, and Murchison will be open in December. In addition extra facilities will be provided for permanent hostels in Christchurch, Queenstown, Te Anau, Nelson and the North Island to meet the usually high demand in the peak Christmas and New Year period.