Glenorchy Airstrip consultation gets underway

The Glenorchy community is being asked to think about the future use of its airstrip Queenstown Lakes District Council senior policy analyst Ralph Henderson said.

The land the Glenorchy Airstrip sits on is currently owned by the Department of Conservation, but with DOC no longer interested in running it, an offer to transfer ownership to the QLDC had been made. Before making any decision on the matter, the Council wanted to find out what the community’s feelings were on the issue.

“We’d like to find out what the opinions of the Glenorchy community and local tourism operators are about the future use of the airstrip,” Mr Henderson said.

Currently there was a limited amount of commercial use but a number of small operators had signalled an interest in using the airstrip in future.

“We want to know how people would like to see the airstrip used and there is also the question of whether the Council is the right organisation to take ownership,” he said.

While growth in activity at the airstrip could bring economic benefits, that had to be weighed against environmental effects like increased noise.

Leaflets outlining potential options for the airstrip had been delivered to all Glenorchy PO boxes and were also available from the Glenorchy Library and Glenorchy businesses. The leaflet could also be downloaded on the QLDC website and a feedback form was available online.

Mr Henderson said feedback would close on Friday 1 July, 2011.