A new retirement village in Mount Maunganui is upsetting neighbours and drawing attention to fast-tracking legislation.

The development was given the go ahead last month by the Covid-19 recovery (fast-track consenting) panel.

The Pitau is a $400 million, five and six storey retirement development, nestled between views of Mount Maunganui beach on one side and the shopping village on the other.

However, surrounding it is an ordinary suburban area of one- to two-storey houses and baches.

Spokesperson for the neighbours, Barry Brown, says it's his feeling that the project should never have gone through the fast-tracking process.

"This particular project, in my view, does not achieve those Covid purposes because, by and large, the country got through Covid a lot better than was anticipated when that legislation was put in place," says Brown.

The purpose of the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 is "to urgently promote employment to support New Zealand's recovery from the economic and social impacts of Covid-19 and to support the certainty of ongoing investment across New Zealand, while continuing to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources".

The Pitau development was referred to the Covid-19 recovery (fast-track consenting) panel by the then minister for the environment David Parker on July 7, 2023.

This was one day before the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 was revoked on July 8, 2023.

Some neighbours of the development feel it should never have gone through the fast-track process. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod.

RNZ asked to speak to Parker about why he thought The Pitau was suitable for fast-tracking at such a late stage.

In a statement, he says applications for referral were able to be made and considered until the Act expired.

"I don't recall the details of this or other applications for referral. The substance of decisions to approve or decline the application for consent was for the independent decision-making panel, not minister," Parker says.

Brown says this is not just a case of locals not wanting development in their backyards.

"This is not NIMBYism, it's very easy and convenient for people to say 'these are NIMBY's'. They [the neighbours] agreed to a retirement facility being established on the site," says Brown.

What has upset neighbours is the height that has been allowed for the village, which they say will absolutely dominate the neighbourhood, shade other houses, and diminish people's privacy.

The neighbours agreed to the retirement facility being established but are upset at the height allowed for the village, says Brown. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod.

One of the reasons given by the panel for allowing The Pitau to build five and six storeys high is Plan Change 33, which will allow more Mount Maunganui buildings to reach a height of 22 metres before needing resource consent.

Jono Perkins, from development management company Property Office. Photo: Supplied

Jono Perkins, from development management company Property Office, supports the plan change and encourages the existing local community to look to the future.

He thinks The Pitau will be a good development.

"It's a big scale, compared to what's there currently, and I can totally understand if you lived around there you might feel slightly uncomfortable about that," says Perkins.

However, he thinks it's important that Tauranga doesn't get left behind as a city because of under-investment.

"We actually should race ahead as a world class, beachside town, and this kind of development is going to take us there," says Perkins.

Because of the fast-tracking, residents are nearly powerless to do anything about the development.

"They just feel that they have been ridden roughshod over, in terms of the process and in terms of the outcome," says Brown.

The Pitau is being developed by Sanderson Group which says it's thrilled to have received a successful decision.

"The Pitau stands as the pinnacle of my lifelong dedication to defining luxury retirement living and aged care in New Zealand," says Fraser Sanderson, chairman and founder of Sanderson Group.

Sanderson group says the development will represent an economic boost to Tauranga, generating over 300 jobs during the construction period and creating 130 ongoing jobs on completion.

Additionally, the project will contribute 220 new dwellings to Tauranga, helping to address the city's current housing shortfall of 5000 to 6000 homes.

-RNZ.