Controversial plans to turn Wānaka’s community airport into one narrow body jet airplanes could use has been dealt a major blow in the High Court this afternoon.

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The planned project, which saw the Queenstown Lakes District Council grant a long-term lease of Wānaka Airport to the Queenstown Airport Company, had been publicly opposed by thousands of residents and three local councillors.

The Airport Company would also receive “certain rights with respect to the future development” of Project Pure, a wastewater treatment plant located near the airport. 

The Wānaka Stakeholders Group Inc put forward an application to have the move judicially reviewed, which the High Court today upheld in two respects: that the Council had transferred its control of Wānaka Airport to the Airport Company; and the Council’s consultation process prior to the granting the lease “did not comply with the consultation requirements of the Local Government Act”.

“The High Court declared that the grant of the lease was unlawful, set the lease aside, and declared the lease to be of no legal effect,” the Court said.

“The proposal on which the Council carried out its consultation process did not fairly represent the nature of the decision taken by the Council when it granted the lease. In this respect too, the decision to grant the lease did not comply with the Local Government Act and was unlawful,” the decision read. 

Read this in full here.