For eight years the Olive Leaf Centre Trust has tried to gain resource consent for the design but to no avail, says Trust chairman Colin Bellett.

The plan to build the Centre next to the church has therefore been abandoned.

He says the Trust has also ruled out making a revised consent application after considering legal advice.

The Trust had come to the conclusion that virtually "nothing at all" could be built on the site, regardless of whether the design was contemporary or traditional Bellet says.

While Bellet and those supporting the olive leaf design are disappointed at having to abandon what they saw as a good idea, those opposing the plan are pleased.

NoLeaf is an incorporated society which was formed to oppose the project. Its chairwoman Susan Rowley says NoLeaf supporters felt "deep relief" the matter was not going to the High Court.

In the beginning

Eight years ago, an Olive Leaf design was selected for a multipurpose parish and community centre on land beside St Patrick's Catholic Church.

Locals were immediately at loggerheads as to what they thought. There were arguments, eight years of them. Legal stoushes. Many people were concerned about the town's heritage value being compromised with a modern design incorporated into it.

Supporters lodged an Environment Court appeal. A High Court Appeal was a possibility.

Arrowtown was a town divided.

Residents made 362 submissions to the Queenstown Lakes District Council: 214 were in support of the design, one indicated qualified support and 147 were opposed.

Those against the idea were determined the olive leaf design would not go ahead.

The NoLeaf society received support from community organisations such as the Arrowtown Village Association, the Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association, the Queenstown Historical Society and Lakes District Museum.

After a Planning Commissioner turned down resource consent for the building in 2020, the Trust turned to the Environment Court for the matter to be reconsidered.

The end of the road

Last month, the Environment Court upheld the Planning Commissioner's ruling and denied resource consent for the proposal.

The Trust was given 15 days to appeal the Court's decision. It chose not to do this.

The parish now has an opportunity for a "genuine consultative process" about how to redevelop the existing building beside the church, Rowley says.

Source

• ODT
• ODT
• Facebook

The Olive Leaf Centre Trust appealed a decision by independent planning commissioners in 2020 turning down its proposal for a multipurpose parish and community centre on land beside the St Patrick's Catholic Church in Hertford St.

After a week-long hearing in May, Judge Prudence Steven and commissioner Kathryn Edmonds released the decision on Monday.

It said the proposal would likely have significant adverse effects on the "openness and spaciousness" characteristic of the church's heritage values, and on the church's "primacy" on the site. Read more

After a public hearing, Queenstown Lakes District Council commissioners found the "Olive Leaf" building, which would double as a community centre, was a remarkable design and made some positive contributions to heritage character in the town.

It would also have positive effects for the church's congregation and the community, the commissioners found.

However, these positive aspects would not outweigh its adverse effects, they said.

These included concerns about the proposed building's scale, form and layout, which would detract from Arrowtown's heritage character and streetscape and the adjacent historic St Patrick's Church and its setting.

The "simple, aesthetic, open landmark qualities" of the site the church would share with and the olive leaf-shaped building would be significantly modified.

The cumulative effects would be more than minor, the commissioners decided.

The proposed building was also contrary to key objectives and policies of the Queenstown Lakes District Council's operative and proposed district plans, the commissioners said.

It would breach standards relating to building bulk and location, noise, earthworks, transport, car parking and landscaping.

The Gaudi-inspired design with its floating, leaf-shaped roof has divided opinion within and outside Arrowtown for the past two years.

The Catholic Diocese of Dunedin, which owns the land, liked design. Their view was echoed by over 200 people who said the new building would benefit the community be providing more public space.

However, over 150 submissions opposed the design. Many people said they were concerned it was too modern and out of character with the church site and its heritage surrounds.

After the news of the commissioner's decision was released, one of the groups against the design said its members were relieved by what they hoped would be the conclusion to a "particularly long process".

"The Arrowtown community has spoken and the commissioners have heard their concerns about the ongoing protection of the historic management zone," a statement from the group said.

Source

• Stuff
• Otago Daily Times
• Image: Stuff

The controversial design by Central Otago architect Fred Van Brandenburg will be decided by the public in May.

The proposal has split the Central Otago town of Arrowtown, attracting 369 submissions last year. One-hundred-and-fifty opposed the proposed plan.

The developers say their leaf-shaped church building is a "gift" to the Catholic parish and wider community in Arrowtown.

Opponents say the "modern and futuristic design" is inappropriate in proximity to heritage buildings.

According to Queenstown Lakes District Council documents the Olive Leaf Centre Trust last year applied to avoid a council hearing and have the application directly referred to the Environment Court.

After the application was declined, the trust lodged an objection that was heard by a council-appointed commissioner in September.
The objection was withdrawn at the end of the hearing.

The council is now preparing to hear the application in May.

The Olive Leaf centre would be situated beside the heritage-listed St Patrick's Catholic Church.

The design is for the Olive Leaf to be sunk two metres below ground level, so the only part that protrudes is the stone-clad roof.

It is envisaged as both a parish and community centre, with features including a hall, accommodation, and a wall of remembrance.

It has the blessing of the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin, which owns the land.

Source

• Stuff
• Image:Otago Daily Times

By last Friday's deadline, the Queenstown Lakes District Council received 362 submissions on the resource consent application for the Olive Leaf Centre project.

Of those, 214 were in support, one indicated qualified support and 147 were opposed.

Heritage New Zealand's submission said the development would have adverse effects on the heritage values of the church and the nearby Blessed Mary McKillop Cottage.

It would also pose a risk to the "structural integrity and ongoing conservation" of both buildings and have detrimental effects on residential amenities in the township, including visual effects and increased traffic and parking.

Supporting the proposal, Arrowtown resident Ralph Hanan said buildings such as the Sydney Opera House and the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre Museum in Paris had become "treasured" icons despite their inconsistency with the heritage form of their surrounding buildings.

A post on the Arrowtown Olive Leaf Centre Facebook page thanked all those who made submissions.

"Thanks to those who registered support and to those who harbour sincere concern. We hope to demonstrate many of your fears will be proven groundless."

The post notes that the council advised they estimate a three-day hearing will be necessary.

The Council is negotiating with commissioners.

Source

• odt.co.nz
• facebook.com
• Image: supplied

Already the project has created considerable national and international interest and offers of support.

Local parishioner and project architect Mr Fred Van Brandenburg says "Our forefathers built to the best of their ability a church that was contemporary in their time."

The inspiration for the Olive Leaf Centre came from a group of parishioners with a vision to build a place for parish gatherings and for the wider community to enjoy.

Their aim was not simply to build a "church hall" but rather to create a work of exceptional beauty, timeless elegance and functionality.

The Centre will be administered by ‘The Olive Leaf Centre Trust,' an independent charitable body.

The Trust says that work on the project to date has been totally pro bono and it gratefully acknowledges the generosity of spirit it has inspired.

The Trust is optimistic that it will be able to fund the project through grants and donations including those from patrons of the arts.

This will be in a similar vein to the enabling of the completion of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Cathedral and raising funds for the Hundertwasser Art Centre project in Whangarei.

The Trust has reaffirmed its commitment to delay seeking funding until Resource Consent has been obtained.

The building has been designed to be a low-level structure to minimise its visual impact and to ensure that the church remains paramount on the site.

Sunk into the ground, glimpsed through trees and shrubs, the building is viewed primarily as a series of stone walls reminiscent of the stone structures built by the early settlers.

Even the roof hovering over it will be clad in stone so that the entire structure will be read as one.

This design has it all. Like a Koru revealed by a skilled carver from within the Pounamu - a Taonga of our time.

Click here to read a full explanation of the design

Source

• Supplied

Queenstown architect Fred van Brandenburg first mooted the Olive Leaf - a multi-use parish centre situated beside the heritage-listed St Patrick's Catholic Church - in 2015.

It has the blessing of the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin, which owns the land, but its modern design has provoked opposition from some Arrowtown residents. Continue reading

Sr Mary Anna Beard, OP, leaves for new pastures on Saturday, reported the Otago Daily Times.

"There is a sadness in our presence not being here, but the people will carry this charism on," Sr Mary Anna said.

"That's the way God works through communities. Our spirit will be carried on through the lives of these people."

Twelve members of the Dominican order attended Mass at St Patrick's in Arrowtown on April 3.

This was followed by a luncheon at the town's bowling club.

"I looked at the children at the service this morning and thought ‘Who's educating who?"' Sr Mary Anna said.

"They are so lovely, local kids whose parents want their faith nurtured.

"They might step away from it, then perhaps come back, who knows? But you plant the seeds. That's what's important."

Sr Mary Anna, originally from Invercargill, has lived in the resort for 10 years, living in Arrowtown, after serving in Asia.

"I simply devoured this place; the scenery, the people, just God's presence here."

Sr Mary Anna said she had not yet been told where her next posting would be.

"A neighbour said to me: ‘Isn't there a certain age where you don't have to move around?'

"But I said life is not about that. It is important to live fully, rather than think, now I'm 75 I better just sit down and start knitting."

St Joseph's Primary School principal Trisch Inder said Sr Mary Anna would be greatly missed.

"Her attitude about change is amazing.

"She says there's a reason for it and God knows what he's doing. We're all really sad that she's leaving, but it's part of her journey, too."

Sources

• Otago Daily Times
• Image: Waymarking.com

Ayrburn Farm Estates Ltd, consulting engineer James Hadley and Rebecca Lucas, as trustees of the Millhouse Trust, plus barrister Jane Taylor and former Queenstown Airport Corporation chairman Mark Taylor, via Wellington counsel James Gardner-Hopkins, lodged an interlocutory application for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal at the Invercargill registry of the High Court on Thursday.

Continue Reading

The Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, the Most Reverend Colin Campbell, purchased a property on Speargrass Flat Road, Arrowtown, in 2006. A school for 60 pupils was planned, as the Catholic school in Queenstown had grown too big for its premises. The Diocese had in mind to build a school in Arrowtown catering for the whole district.

The lodge on the property was destroyed by fire, so it was decided to build a 112 pupil school. The classroom block was to be 480 square metres and the administration block 220 squm. There is also room for a playing field and a 42 space car park. The cost estimate was between $3 and $5 million.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council granted a resource consent for the school in 2009 even though 26 of 28 submissions were against it. Residents and landowners on Speargrass Flat Rd appealed the consent in the Environment Court, which ruled in favour. Eight groups then appealed against this ruling, again including residents and landowners.

It was alleged by those appealing against the ruling that there were errors in the decision of the Environment Court. The decision said that there was no evidence of error in the court's consideration of the 'nature and scale of activities', nor was there a failure to consider traffic.

Although there were two errors of law in the court's decision, Justice French dismissed the appeal because the court had dealt properly with matters relevant to its decision.

Sources

• The Southland Times
• Image: Chris Gin Photography