​Council nominates elected members for Fast Track applications

With the new Fast Track Approvals Act (FTA) becoming law in December 2024, the Council has nominated three of its elected members to play a role in processing an application for Central Otago; the Bendigo-Ophir Gold project.

This is one of two projects listed in the FTA for the district, the other being the Remarkables Ski Area Upgrade and Doolans Expansion.

At the meeting today (Friday 4 April 2025), the Central Otago District Council endorsed the process to respond to the applications and nominated Central Otago Mayor Tamah Alley and Cr Sarah Browne to approve Council’s keys issues report for the Bendigo-Ophir Gold project, under the Act. The Council also nominated Deputy Mayor Cr Neil Gillespie to be on the expert panel because of his prior experience, to consider the application when received. The expert panel will consist of four members. The Otago Regional Council may also nominate a person, and the representation on the panel will be determined by a Judge

Speaking to her report to Council, Group Manager - Planning and Infrastructure Louise van der Voort said that there had been some conversations with Matakanui Gold Limited/Santana Minerals Limited indicating that an application would be received in the coming weeks for the Bendigo Ophir Gold project. No dialogue has occurred with the agents representing the Remarkables Ski Area Upgrade and Doolans Expansion proposal to date.

It was important for Council to be involved to provide planning advice and to ensure appropriate conditions were applied around matters such as landscape, ecology, noise (and other matters) and the remediation of the land and associated conditions around a bond, she said.

Ms van der Voort said the timeframe for responding to applications was likely to be tight, so it was necessary to have the nominations and experts in place now.