by PETER OWENS
Denied a resource consent by commissioners appointed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council in late November, the proponents of the Olive Leaf Centre project in Arrowtown have now lodged an appeal in the Environment Court.
This is the latest move in a long-running saga.
Since it was first proposed several years ago, the project has divided opinion in the local community and the small congregation of St Patrick’s Catholic Church, a heritage-listed building. It is proposed the Olive Leaf is to be built alongside and serve St Patrick’s church and the wider community.
Colin Bellett, the chairman of the Olive Leaf Centre Trust, said he is sure it will be erected. “This will be the most beautiful building and it will be loved and wanted and treasured by Arrowtown people and the surrounds — mark my words,” he said.
The opposition to the proposal is not confined to the non-Catholic Arrowtown community. Many members of the local Catholic Church are also opposed to it. In doing this, they are aware that the Olive Leaf is meant to be a church hall for St Patrick’s.
The proposed Olive Leaf building and St Patrick’s church are in the residential historic management zone, an overlay in the Queenstown Lakes District Council district plan. This aims to preserve the character of the area and make sure any new developments are sympathetic.
In declining the resource consent, two commissioners hearing the application by the Olive Leaf Centre Trust praised aspects of the proposed building, but found it would significantly alter the setting around the church, and that the proposal was contrary to conditions in the existing and proposed district plans.
An organisation known as “NoLeaf” has been formed to oppose the Olive Leaf building on the grounds that it does not fit in with the historic buildings already existing.
The architect of the building is local man and Catholic parishioner, Fred van Brandenberg. He wrote that St Mary McKillop, who once lived in Arrowtown, taught the value of extending an olive branch of reconciliation. He also wrote that she was also an advocate of progressive thinking. “The Olive Leaf represents our cultural heritage as the legacy she leaves behind for us to build upon.”
While the Olive Leaf Centre Trust is independent of the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin, which owns the land, subsequent bishops have given their blessing for the trust to pursue the project. The trust, however, has responsibility for progressing and funding the building, which it intends to do by soliciting donations.
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