Mount Iron Recreation Reserve Management Plan

Have your say on a plan to manage Mount Iron

In May 2023 Council completed the purchase of nearly 100 hectares of land on Mount Iron and Little Mount Iron in Wānaka. This land has been vested as Recreation Reserve.

Our community is now the proud owner and guardian of this cherished local landmark. Over September-November 2023, we asked the community for feedback on how we use, enjoy, manage, preserve and enhance public land on Mount Iron and Little Mount Iron.

These ideas and insights have helped the Parks team shape a draft Reserve Management Plan (RMP) for the reserve. Click here to read the early feedback summary.

We now want to know if we have got the draft plan right and if you support a shared vision for how this much-loved landscape can be enjoyed by all.

What you can expect to see in the plan:

• A long-term vision for Mount Iron as a place for natural recreation
• Objectives such as enabling a safe and resilient reserve, community participation in protecting and enhancing the area, and embedding mana whenua values
• Policies grouped into eight themes which include commercial activities, community partnering, events, ecology, landscape and geology, development, recreation and natural hazards.

How to have your say

From Monday 23 September you'll be able to take a look at the plan below and share your thoughts by clicking on the submission form at the bottom of the page.

>>Draft Mount Iron Reserve Management Plan

We are now in the formal part of the process with the draft Mount Iron RMP open for public submissions from 23 September to 29 November 2024. Submitters also have the option to speak to their submission at a public hearing to be held on 10 and 11 December (through the submission form below).

Submissions on the draft Mount Iron RMP will close on Friday 29 November 2024.

Opportunities to find out more!

The Parks team will be out and about over the next two months to chat to you about any questions you may have about the draft plan. Visit us at a community drop-in session when you are out and about enjoying the Mount Iron track.

Join an onsite drop in session:

When: Wednesday 16 October anytime between 4.00pm-6.00pm and Saturday 19 October anytime between 10.00am-12.00pm

Where: Mount Iron track entrance near Allenby Place Carpark, Wānaka

What is a Reserve Management Plan?

A Reserve Management Plan sets out how Council intends to provide for and ensure the use, enjoyment, maintenance, protection, and preservation of a reserve. It details the objectives and policies that guide Council in making both day-to-day decisions, as well as long-term decisions about how reserves and open spaces are to be used, managed, or developed.

Mount Iron Recreation Reserve Map

This map shows QLDC Mount Iron Recreation Reserve land and includes current recreation uses and services. QLDC has applied to DOC for the Scenic Reserve land (shown here in dark green) to be vested in Council. The RMP will apply to this land if the vesting is successful.

Next steps

Once public consultation has closed and public hearings have been heard, all submissions will be considered by the hearing panel and used to make final changes to the Reserve Management Plan for Mount Iron Recreation Reserve. This plan will then be presented to the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board and Full Council for adoption in early 2025.

Have a question?

If you have a question, please submit it on the tool below and we'll get it answered as soon as possible. All questions and answers will be published for everyone to see.

Keep in touch

If you’d like to be kept in the loop with our regular Mount Iron newsletter, please sign up here or go to www.qldc.govt.nz/mount-iron-reserve-management-plan