Our Future, By Design. Why your voice matters in the 2027-2037 QLDC Long Term Plan .

Queenstown Lakes is home to incredible creative talent.
This is our moment to step up - for culture, for community for the economy and for the future of the district.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has opened early engagement for the Long Term Plan (LTP) 2027–2037.  The 10-year roadmap that shapes what Council chooses to invest in across the district. This is where Queenstown Lakes decides what it will protect, build and back over the next decade.

Right now, Council is gathering ideas and input before the draft plan is developed. That means this is a real opportunity to help ensure arts, culture and creativity are recognised and supported as essential to our economy, our wellbeing and our local identity.

OUR CREATIVE SECTOR IS A POWERHOUSE.

Pipes and roads keep a place functioning.
Creativity and culture is what makes it worth living in.

Here is why it matters:

• It creates jobs + $. Queenstown Lakes has the second-largest creative workforce in New Zealand (behind Wellington). The sector makes up 5.64% of our workforce, supports nearly 2,000 local jobs and injects real dollars into the district, with huge growth potential if we back it properly.

• It diversifies the economy. Festivals, galleries, design studios and screen production create year-round value. Supporting local jobs, growing creative businesses, and keeping talent (and dollars) here. Creating a stronger, more balanced economy

• It strengthens community. Arts, culture and heritage are a practical investment in a stronger community. Bringing people together, reducing isolation and improving wellbeing. That’s not a “nice-to-have”; it’s how a district stays liveable as it grows.

WHAT IS THE QLDC LONG TERM PLAN?

The Long Term Plan (LTP) is Council’s big-picture plan for the next decade. It sets the budget, priorities and investment decisions that shape how Queenstown Lakes grows. It’s refreshed every three years, but the direction it sets can last much longer.

A large share of funding will always go to essential services like water and transport and rightly so. But the LTP is also where Council decides what kind of place we’re building alongside that: the spaces we gather, the stories we protect and the community life we want to grow.

We’ve included a few QLDC visuals below to show how the funding mix is currently tracking and why this is the moment to step up and make sure creativity, culture and heritage are part of the district’s future, not an afterthought.

HOW YOU CAN HELP (BY 8 FEBRUARY 2026)

Council needs to hear from you before Sunday 8 February 2026. Your feedback will go directly to a Councillor workshop on February 17 to help steer the draft plan.

Click here to share your thoughts on the Let’s Talk platform

Not sure what to write? Copy + paste one of these.

QLDC has asked a range of questions - you can simply click what resonates with you, add a short comment, or support someone else’s post. Every contribution counts.

Here are a few ready-to-go statements you can use:

Economic impact + jobs

• Queenstown Lakes has one of New Zealand’s strongest creative workforces. The LTP should support creativity as a core contributor to local jobs and economic growth.

• Invest in the creative sector to grow sustainable careers and keep talent living and working in the district.

Affordable spaces + creative livelihoods

• We need affordable, fit-for-purpose spaces where artists and creatives can make work, rehearse, exhibit and perform.

• Support dedicated creative hubs and shared spaces so creativity can thrive locally, not be pushed out by costs.

Local identity + quality growth

• As the district grows, we must protect what makes Queenstown Lakes distinctive — culture, heritage, and local storytelling should be part of every development conversation.

• Public art and cultural expression should be integrated into new builds and public spaces to strengthen local identity.

Community wellbeing

• Arts and culture are a practical investment in a stronger community - bringing people together, reducing isolation, and improving wellbeing. This is how Queenstown Lakes stays liveable as it grows.

• Culture should be treated as a core part of community wellbeing, not an optional extra.

If you want supporting evidence,

• 61% of New Zealanders agree the arts contribute to community resilience and wellbeing (Creative NZ Toi Aotearoa, 2023).

• Arts and culture contribute 4.3% to New Zealand’s economy (Infometrics, 2023).

Image: Revology, Toi Wānaka, Lake Wānaka Tourism - Photographer: Andy Brown