New Zealand Government Selects The Remarkables Expansion Plans for Fast Track Approval
Mountainwatch |News
The New Zealand Government has listed NZ Ski’s potential expansion of The Remarkables ski area into the Doolans Basin as one of 149 projects selected for approval under its proposed “Fast-track Approvals Bill.”
As the name suggests, the bill is designed to streamline approval for development projects that may have been slowed down or rejected, allowing eligible projects to by-pass the usual consent processes and gain an exemption or approval from various laws.
The process involves approval by several government ministers before assessment by an expert panel. The panel then makes a recommendation back to the ministers who have the final say on whether the project goes ahead.
The Bill has been promoted by the government as a way to “cut through the red and green tape that has made it more and more difficult to build the projects New Zealand needs.”
NZ Ski’s proposed plan for The Remarkables expansion into the Doolans Basin, an adjacent backcountry area with a number of bowls, was first announced in November 2021.
The Doolans would be accessed via a 200-300 metre tunnel from the top of the Curvey Basin chairlift. The terrain would be serviced by 1.4km long chairlift and other infrastructure includes power, water, snowmaking and guest amenities. The skiable terrain at The Remarkables would increase from 385 to 900 hectares.
After the announcement the local Queenstown newspaper, the Lakes Weekly Bulletin reported that while NZ Ski CEO Paul Anderson welcomed the news, he said it doesn’t mean it the Doolans project is guaranteed to happen.
“It gives us an option to progress. We’ve been pretty upfront about our intentions, that we’d like to expand into this area, if it makes sense,” Anderson said. “The feedback we’ve had from the community has been really encouraging so far. We’ll continue to engage with the community, with iwi and any other stakeholders to make sure it is something that works for everyone.”
The Remarkables most recent investment was the new 6-seat Shadow Basin high speed chairlift which opened in July this year, replacing the old fixed-grip quad chair at a cost of NZ$23mil. The expansion into Doolans would be a considerably higher investment, and no doubt budget is a major factor to see if the project “makes sense”.
The Fast Track Approval Bill has attracted a lot of opposition mainly on environmental, cultural and heritage grounds, Greenpeace describing it as “fundamentally anti-environment.”
That opposition will continue but the Bill is likely to be passed by the New Zealand parliament at the end of the year. It will be interesting to see if NZ Ski take the next step and move forward with the Doolan Basin expansion.
