Having considered the application against the criteria in the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 (the Act) and the Act’s purpose, and having sought and considered written comments from the relevant Ministers, relevant local authorities, and the New Zealand Transport Agency, the Minister for the Environment has accepted this application for referral for the following reasons:

• the project will help to achieve the purpose of the Act; and

• the project offers the opportunity for up to 650 full-time equivalent jobs and for additional permanent jobs through commercial activities; and

• the project will provide economic benefits to those in the Central Otago area and to the viticulture and construction industries, which have been affected by COVID-19; and

• the project will increase housing supply in an area experiencing rapid population change and housing shortages; and

• the project will contribute to a well-functioning urban environment, given its location close to the Cromwell town centre and within an area identified in the Cromwell Spatial Plan as being suitable for residential intensification; and

• the project will enable construction to occur sooner than would otherwise be the case under the standard processes of the Resource Management Act 1991; and

• any adverse effects arising from the activities that are to occur under the project and potential mitigation measures can be tested by an expert consenting panel, having regard to Part 2 of the Resource Management Act 1991 and the purpose of the Act.