The floating glass box used as the Kestrel Landing will not be returning to its previous home at the south end of The Strand waterfront after council decided it would clutter the ‘new look' reclamation.

The box was removed from its waterfront location and taken to Tauranga Bridge Marina, where it is currently housed, when the lines securing the box to the wharf's piles broke during a storm with gusting winds of 100km/h on March 21.

A tug was called in to tow the floating glass box when it's moorings broke during a storm in March.

Tauranga City Councillors voted 8-3 yesterday to not allow the glass box to return to the waterfront saying they want to maintain an ‘uncluttered' look to the recently renovated Strand reclamation.

They also commented that the glass box was a totally unexpected addition when owner of the former Auckland harbour ferry the Kestrel Mark Scapens brought the Kestrel to Tauranga to be used as a restaurant in 2004.

Mark appeared before the council this week seeking an extension to his lease. TCC granted the landing pontoon a new lease on December 19, 2011, with the business required to be up and operating by September 30, 2012.

Since the application was granted the storm struck, the regional council announced Mark would have to go through a publically notified resource consent process, and he's embroiled in legal action over the failure of the piles.

Mark told councillors the publically notified process to gain regional council resource consent could cost from $10,000 - $140,000, and take months, over-running the September deadline and ruling out the landing's return to business this coming summer.

Councillor Catherine Stewart says it's time the council moved on, the landing originally arrived by default, and the waterfront looks better now it's gone.

Councillor Larry Baldock says losing the glass box is a lost opportunity, and that in future the council will still need a pontoon at the site for waterfront activities.

Catherine's view had more support, with eight councillors voting to not extend the lease.

Speaking afterwards Mark Scapens says activities attract people to waterfront sites, and he asked how the council is going to cater for the waterfront activities in the future.

'You can only bang your head against the wall for so long,” says Mark.

The sticking point in all his struggles with the council over the Kestrel and the landing was the inability to obtain a long term lease.

He says the same issue will continue to discourage any other waterfront enterprises.

'If you don't have ten years you don't have anything.”

He's been paying rent on the site since the March storm, which effectively ended the Kestrel landing's ten year occupation.

The Kestrel, and the landing, arrived in 2004 and departed November 2010.

Mark said at the time the council's refusal to offer a viable term meant no business owner was prepared to invest as there was no insurance there was enough time to recoup.

An earlier restaurant business failed, leading to a court case in which Michael Colosimo was sentenced to two and a half years jail for using forged papers to overstate the business profits.

The Kestrel then remained vacant for two years before being towed away by Auckland based Kestrel Preservation Society.

The glass box remained, and looked to have a new life as the focus for commercial recreational waterfront activities including jet boat tours and sea kayaking when the storm struck.

It is now currently located at the Bridge Marina B Pier.