Wānaka’s 250-home approval includes affordable housing and limits on holiday lets

The Wānaka decision

Wānaka’s Mt Iron Junction housing scheme has received approval for 250 homes at 237 Wānaka to Luggate Highway. The expert panel granted the application on 28 September 2026, subject to consent conditions.

The 5.98-hectare development includes a childcare centre and two recreational reserves. Its one-, two- and three-bedroom homes include 13 to be provided to the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust for affordable housing.

Visitor accommodation is limited to 20 per cent of the development, with those properties restricted to short stays totalling no more than 120 nights annually. That condition places a defined limit on holiday letting within the new neighbourhood.

Water, wastewater and stormwater arrangements remain subject to final design and engineering. Lit walking and cycling connections are also planned along parts of State Highways 84 and 6. Delivery is proposed over ten years in five stages.

Mt Iron Junction Limited lodged the application in February. The decision can be challenged in the High Court on questions of law, with a 20-working-day filing period after publication. Approval therefore establishes a conditioned development pathway; it does not mean the homes have been completed.