Economic Analysis of the roles, Function and Relationships of the Centres within the Queenstown Lakes District

This project seeks to engage suitably qualified experts to deliver an up‑to‑date economic assessment of the hierarchy, roles, functions, and interrelationships of centres and commercial and business zones across the Queenstown Lakes District. The assessment will respond to growth pressures and changes that have occurred during QLDC’s staged review of the Operative District Plan since 2015, examining how centres currently operate both individually and as a network, how they compete with or complement one another, and their capacity to accommodate future demand. While the core of this work is an economic analysis, it must be underpinned by planning expertise to ensure that findings are appropriately interpreted within a statutory and strategic planning context. In particular, the work will need to translate economic evidence into outputs that are directly relevant to the proposed District Plan provisions, future plan changes, the Spatial Plan, and that respond to central government direction, including the Resource Management Act 1991, the National Policy Statement on Urban Development and the National Planning Standards. The resulting evidence base must therefore be both economically robust and practically applicable within a planning framework, supporting the development of a coherent, resilient, and well‑functioning centres hierarchy. It is anticipated that the successful consultant will bring experience at the intersection of economics and planning, including a strong understanding of both strategic and statutory planning processes, and the role and function of centres within the Queenstown Lakes District.