$75m module resort to overlook lake

A $75 million "environmentally sustainable" resort is to be built overlooking Lake Taupo's isolated western bays.

Work will start in the middle of next year on the Hingarae Development on farmland above Waihora Bay, which is accessible only by boat or walking track.

The 40.5-hectare resort would feature solar power, electric cars and energy-efficient appliances, Hingarae Development managing director Greg Hickman said.

"Hingarae will be as close to carbon-neutral as possible and environmental sustainability will be a feature of the development."

Twenty-eight freehold modules, built on 0.4-hectare sections, are expected to fetch a median price of $3.2 million. Each will have two to three bedrooms and be 200 square metres in size.

Meanwhile, Taupo District Council says a decision by the Environment Court to turn down a subdivision west of Taupo township will not change its long-term growth management of the area.

The court upheld an appeal by Mapara Valley Preservation Society to stop Poronui Trust's proposal to develop six one-hectare lots in Tukairangi Rd, Mapara Valley, 10 kilometres west of Taupo.

The society had appealed after the council granted resource consent for the subdivision. The court ruled the area's natural character should be protected from high-density residential development.

The valley is subject to subdivision applications, including one for 1300 lots from Lakeview Ventures.

Council environmental services manager Gareth Green said the court's decision, which related to applications for subdivision of the valley floor and escarpments, had strengthened council policy.

It was too early to say if larger developments, such as the Lakeview Ventures proposal, would be affected because the council's Mapara Valley draft growth management strategy would not be decided till December, he said.

Resource consent hearings for Lakeview Ventures have been set down for early next year.