A company hoping to set up a floating sauna on a small Te Anau lake has had its dream sunk. Yesterday, Floating Sauna Ltd’s bid to set up two saunas and a changing room atop a pontoon on Lake Henry was the subject of a council deliberation. The project had drawn strong community feedback in recent months, 81% of a total 210 submitters objecting to a licence to occupy being issued. During a lengthy deliberation, Southland district councillors worked their way through more than 20 key themes which had arisen from objections — fewer than half of which were backed by council staff. But councillors reached consensus that many of the community’s concerns were valid, and ultimately declined the licence to occupy. The decision was made despite the Fiordland Community Board recommending the licence be granted in February 2025, and a resource consent being secured in February 2026.…