A mother who lives with her young family in a damp, cold cabin on the land where a housing development will be built in Arrowtown is asking those opposed to the development to consider how Queenstown's high living costs affect young families.
Given she has two young children, a mouldy house is not ideal, but high living costs mean Alycia Burke and her family of four, originally from Invercargill, have been putting up with the damp house.
Mrs Burke, husband Matt and children aged 4 and 6, live in a two-bedroom cabin which will be demolished to make way for a 10-house development instigated by the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust.
On Tuesday the Queenstown Lakes District Council voted to transfer 11-21 Suffolk St in Arrowtown, the land on which derelict cabins sit, to the housing trust, and on Wednesday the Government announced a $1 million grant towards the $3.6 million housing development.
Of 263 submissions to the council, the vast majority were against the proposal for reasons such as "we don't want ... trash renting cheap houses in Arrowtown" and the land being too valuable for a housing development.