Eichardts Hotel, Queenstown : A Case Study of Flood Controls and Existing Use Rights
The site is located on the corner of Marine Parade and Ballarat Street, Queenstown, opposite Lake Wakatipu. Eichardts is a significant local landmark, and a Historic Places Trust report of 1998 recommends Category 2 protection of the building (ie, it is identified as a place of historical heritage, significance or value).
The Eichardts building was significantly affected by the November 1999 floods, and because of its age and construction it took longer to dry out than other buildings nearby. Due to the damage caused by the flooding the building required a major upgrade. The owners also wished to undertake alterations to restore the building and saw the flood renovations as a good opportunity to do this.
It was proposed that the building undergo reconstruction, and the flood provisions of both the Proposed and Transitional Plans were triggered. Both plans specified a minimum floor level of 312.0 metres above sea level. Eichardts Hotel was to be 311.92 metres and the 1871 building is 311.5 metres. In this case existing use rights were applied, whereby the building was built prior to these plan provisions coming into being, and provided that the scale, intensity and character of the building remains the same, then the building is not subject to these provisions. In addition, the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) accepted that raising the floor levels would compromise the heritage qualities of the building relating to the height levels of the windows and ceiling. Therefore the minimum floor level was not reached. As the site would be susceptible to future flooding, in granting consent QLDC required a flood management plan for the site.
