Plan change for Cardrona village

Cardrona skifields. Photo / Doug Sherring

A $3 million commercial development including retail, fuel, accommodation and dining providers which had been planned for Cardrona village has been shelved.

However, a scaled-down version of the proposal is in the pipeline for another site about 100m down the road.

Auckland company Makaraka Estate is no longer proceeding with plans to develop a 5000sq m piece of land it owns on Cardrona Valley Rd just north of the Cardrona Hotel, which it bought from Mt Cardrona Station in 2010.

The company's proposal had included six pumps with petrol supplied by petrol Alley Services, a cafe with a museum and wine loft, a general store, a 16-room budget accommodation lodge, a commercial hire and retail centre for snow equipment and mountain bikes, a courtyard and picnic area.

A spokeswoman for the company's sole director, Gary McNabb, said the project was on hold but the company still owned the land.

Another Auckland development company, Seastone Group, has plans drawn up for a smaller $1.2 million development at a site south of the hotel on the corner of Rivergold Way and Cardrona Valley Rd, which is part of Brooklynne Holdings' 11-lot commercial subdivision.

Seastone Group's general manager Aaron Coupe said the proposal, which is not yet consented, would feature four fuel pumps, a general store built like the Cardrona church, and a bistro-style restaurant.

Brooklynne Holdings director Kathy Lynne confirmed Seastone Group was negotiating the purchase of two sites for its developmenton about 3000sq m.

Brooklynne Holdings owns a large amount of Cardrona's rural visitor zone between Cardrona Valley Rd and the Cardrona River. It has some resource consents approved, including a "mini-Millbrook" development on the eastern side of the Cardrona River where a lodge, 48 houses and a bridge are planned.

Negotiations were also under way with people interested in setting up a riverside cafe and accommodation, she said. Otago Daily Times