​Council moving forward with Half Mile landscape plans

The Central Otago District Council (CODC) will be presenting a landscape plan for the Half Mile Recreation Reserve to the Vincent Community Board at its May meeting.

A concept plan for the Half Mile was presented to the public in November 2021. The Council will use this as a basis for a landscape plan to provide further detail, which will include the types of plantings proposed, along with irrigation, and updated costings.

At the Vincent Community Board (VCB) meeting in Alexandra today (21 March 2023), the Council’s stance on wilding conifer removal on Council owned or managed land was confirmed, that a staged approach at the Half Mile would not be permitted under the CODC’s Wilding Conifer Control Policy. VCB members were in agreement, which meant the removal of trees at the Half Mile Recreation Reserve would need to be felled in a single operation and not staged.

It was hoped that clear felling could be undertaken during April-May and would be finished by the end of June, with the logs harvested and slash chipped onsite, and the site left clear. This timeframe also fitted in with the government funding allocated for wilding conifer control and for the Council to meet its obligations for control on its own land. In addition, it would eliminate hazards posed by trees that needed immediate removal. The trees would cost about $110,000 to remove, less potentially $35,000 from log sales. The VCB would be contributing $20,000 and the Wilding Conifer Control Group $65,000.

A landscape plan will be presented to the VCB on 19 May.