They’ve pressed pause.
Christchurch City councillors were informed earlier this week in an email about the decision to halt development of Tarras Airport from the council’s investment company, Christchurch City Holdings Ltd (CCHL).
Christchurch Airport CEO Justin Watson informed CCHL about the decision to delay further action, saying more time was needed to assess the Central Otago project’s impacts and to consult with local and national stakeholders.
Of the call, Queenstown Airport boss Glen Sowry says ‘‘commonsense has prevailed’’.
Noting central to Queenstown Airport’s masterplan is aligning with sustainable tourism aspirations of the regions the airport serves, Sowry says Christchurch plays an important role serving as the main gateway into the South Island, with good long-haul international connectivity.
‘‘Queenstown Airport is very clear about the role we play in providing excellent domestic and short-haul international connections to the east coast of Australia.
‘‘I believe that Christchurch and Queenstown airports’ respective strengths and market positions complement each other.’’
For several years, Christchurch Airport has been investigating the potential airport at Tarras — north of Cromwell and home to just a few hundred people — where it owns 800 hectares of land.
But Christchurch City Council had also raised concerns with CCHL about the amount of time and money being spent on the airport project, and outlined it would be unable to commit to further investment because of cost pressures.
Subsequently, the Christchurch Airport board opted to slow momentum on the project.
