The Kiwi Water Park at Lowburn has opened for business, and a new turning bay at the entrance to recreation area is expected to be completed by early 2023 as planned.
Lack of a turning bay had earlier looked to deflate the summer plans for Kiwi Water Park, an inflatable playground moored on Lake Dunstan that uses the Lowburn car park for visitor vehicles.
The company was originally granted resource consent by the Central Otago District Council (CODC) to operate the park for six years, and variations were made last year to move the park to a more sheltered area.
The park also required a yearly permit from Land Information New Zealand (Linz) as the landowner of Lake Dunstan.
Vehicle access consent conditions were added when the park was moved, and a traffic consultant concluded at the end of last season that a right-turn bay was required to ensure safe and efficient access to the area.
In late October, Linz head of Crown property Sonya Wikitera said work would start on the turning bay before December, with anearly 2023 completion date, and the business received conditional approval for a oneyear permit to operate.
Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Authority was acting on behalf of Linz to projectmanage this installation.
Linz said work was proceeding to schedule and the cost was being split between the agencies involved, with none passed on to Kiwi Water Park or any other stakeholders.
Linz said the estimated costs of the turning bay were expected to be in the range of $325,000 to $375,000.
The exact cost would not be known until works were completed.
In line with Linz standard practice for commercial businesses, the Kiwi Water Park paid a percentage-based fee to the government, which was determined this year by a registered valuer, reflecting the usage of the land.
Kiwi Water Park co-owner Emily Rutherford said the attraction opened on December 3 as planned, and had been busy with school groups from Central Otago and Canterbury.
The company has installed fencing along the road as required under its resource consent and was waiting for the turning bay, she said.
