New Catholic school, parish could be built on Queenstown property

The land is between the Shotover River and Lake Hayes, and is at the edge of the 120-hectare Ladies Miles corridor that has been rezoned for major residential and lesser commercial development.

In 2023, a legal submission to the Ladies Mile variation stated St Joseph’s School, in central Queenstown, ‘‘now has difficulty meeting the needs of the Catholic community due to its size and location limitations’’.

‘‘In addition to the roll being near capacity due to size constraints, most families with young children are now not living in Queenstown town centre and instead are located in the southern and eastern corridors,” the submission continued.

‘‘Travel from these areas into Queenstown town centre is becoming increasingly difficult.’’

Dunedin Bishop Michael Dooley confirmed the land purchase ‘‘after several years of evaluation and negotiation’’. In a diocesan newsletter in February, it was stated that ‘‘the land will be able to be used for educational and religious purposes’’.

Diocesan operations manager Paul Olsen said ‘‘we are going into a period of consultation with the parish and with the school community about what any development would look like’’. It is hoped that consultation will be completed this year.

However, plans would also be subject to infrastructure, such as sewerage, going into Ladies Mile, he said.

Mr Olsen noted that the diocese paid ‘‘considerably more’’ for the site than its current valuation, adding it was ‘‘such a central location in terms of accessibility that it’s quite desirable’’.

FULL STORY

Development may include Catholic church, primary school (By Philip Chandler/Otago Daily Times)