Queenstown Smart Growth Initiative

For those who missed it yesterday, RNZ's John Campbell interviewed Ridgeburn developer Kurt Gibbons, about some of the finer details of his development and his affordability claims, you can listen on the link below.

Developer defends controversial Arrowtown housing project The developer behind a contentious housing project near Arrowtown plans to submit a fresh fast track application this month, after an assessor of projects under the scheme said there wasn't enough information for experts to make a decision. Developer Kurt Gibbons, director of Ridgeburn Limited spoke...

Photographs from a development by the same developer behind the Ridgeburn application

This is Queenstown - 2026. A Crux reader took this image of Five Mile Villas, Frankton from a chopper on August 18 - noting that it looked like "Eastern Europe." This is just one of developer Kurt Gibbons many Queenstown/Wānaka projects (including Ridgeburn) - all big enough to change the visual and social character of the district - not to mention bringing our traffic to even more of an absolute standstill.

If you haven't already, please sign up for our email list to get more detailed updates on the Ridgeburn application. It will be the best way for us to keep you informed as things progress over the coming months.

Queenstown Smart Growth Initiative | Independent Evidence for the Expert Panel The Queenstown Smart Growth Initiative works to ensure independent expert evidence is provided to the Expert Panel on the Ridgeburn fast-track application at Arrow Junction.

This week, Ridgeburn developer Kurt Gibbons told Mountain Scene he intends to relodge his fast-track application, and defended the project's "affordable" housing and its approach to Queenstown's growth. You can see our response on Crux here.

If you didn't read the article from the Mountain Scene you can read it here: https://digital.scene.co.nz/html5/default.aspx

The Queenstown Smart Growth Initiative has thrown doubt on statements made this week by Ridgeburn Fast Track developer Kurt Gibbons. We publish their statement in response to Mr Gibbon's claims. https://cruxnz.substack.com/

Arrowtown Village Association’s questions and concerns mirror ours, off the back of this week’s Mountain Scene article about Ridgeburn.

Queenstown Mayor John Glover was on Morning Report this morning, discussing his and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown's joint request to Minister Chris Bishop for a pause on out-of-zone, greenfield Fast-track approvals.

The government's announcement on letting councils recover more infrastructure costs from developers is little comfort here. As Glover has pointed out, the change only applies to future Fast-track applications, not the projects already in the pipeline, leaving ours and other councils across the country to cover funding gaps that will run into the millions.

On Monday Bishop told Morning Report that Fast-track was designed to enable exactly this kind of out-of-sequence development, and that the system is working as intended.

As Glover described it, "these developments aren't out of sequence, they aren't even in sequence." Ridgeburn is a clear example: an isolated greenfield area that was never part of any growth plan at all. The result, as he's put it, is that the costs get pushed downstream onto the community, long after the decision has been made.

Listen to this morning's interview here:

Mayor fears residents will bear brunt of fast-track costs On Friday the government announced plans to allow councils to claw back more costs from developers announced plans to allow councils to claw back more costs from developers relating to fast-tracked projects. That came as Queenstown Mayor John Glover and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown joined forces to ex...

Great to see Dan Gordon and Lydia Gliddon - Mayor of Selwyn join Wayne Mayor Wayne Brown and John Glover Community calling for a pause and review of Fast-track. As they make clear in their letter to Chris Bishop, Fast-track shouldn't be a way for developers to bypass councils and communities, especially in districts that already have sufficient planned capacity. It's encouraging to see more Mayors raising the same concerns.

The mayors of Waimakariri and Selwyn are backing calls for a pause and review of Fast-track housing decisions.

Waimakariri District Mayor Dan Gordon and Selwyn District Mayor Lydia Gliddon have written to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform and Infrastructure, supporting calls from Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and Queenstown Lakes Mayor John Glover for a pause while the Fast-track pathway is reviewed.

Mayor Gordon says Fast-track is being used to ignore local voices and force through unsuitable development in some districts/cities when there is more than enough land already zoned and ready to be connected.

“In Waimakariri we have capacity for up to 17,000 new homes already. What we’re seeing is Fast-track applications come in for places that are not suitable at all.

“My view is there is no need to pursue development in unsuitable areas, or against community wishes, when we already have the capacity and connections to infrastructure sorted.”

Gordon says that includes proposals such as Ōhoka, which has been independently reviewed and declined already, and Pegasus Golf Course.

“While our councils support the intended use of Fast Track for complex projects that require multiple consents and are of regional or national significance like major infrastructure projects such as the Woodend Bypass, we do not believe it should be used to push through wholesale development without understanding whether projects fit the needs and realities of the district.”

Mayor Lydia Gliddon says Selwyn’s recently reviewed District Plan also already provides significant capacity.

“In Selwyn we are known for and plan well ahead for growth. Our recently adopted District Plan provides capacity for 32,760 homes over the next 30 years, supported by planned infrastructure and services. We welcome growth, but it needs to happen in a way that communities and infrastructure can keep pace with.

“On top of this we face multiple Fast-track proposals that could add a further 8,000 houses, most of which sit outside Council's planned infrastructure investment. Our concern isn't growth itself, its ensuring growth is supported by the roads, water, transport and community facilities residents rely on.

“We also want to ensure local communities have a meaningful opportunity to understand these proposals and share their views on how growth should be planned and managed.

“We welcome the announcement today by minister Bishop and Minister Watts around ensuring the costs of these developments can be recovered, but we are still concerned about the scale of Fast-track and lack of community input,” Gliddon says.

“Because of this we are joining the call for a pause and review until this can be resolved and communities can have faith in this pathway.”

You can read the letter to the minister on the link here - https://www.waimakariri.govt.nz/council/news-and-information/2026/08/waimakariri-and-selwyn-support-call-for-fast-track-pause-and-review

For those who didn't attend QSGI's meeting in Arrowtown a few weeks ago, Hanna's interview with Crux gives detailed insight into QSGI's concerns about the Ridgeburn application, and the wider issue of developers using Fast-track to bypass local council planning and community input across the country.

Watch our video interview with Hanna Pettit - part of the driving force behind the Queenstown Smart Growth Initiative. She's determined to stop the controversial fast-tracked Ridgeburn subdivision that plans to spray treated sewage onto nearby hillsides and feed 800 extra vehicles into peak hour traffic on SH6. There's also a companion podcast audio version. https://cruxnz.substack.com/