Tauranga City councillor John Robson has warned he does not want to see the council placed in an awkward position by mainstreet-funded organisations vying for annual events.

The caution comes after Papamoa Unlimited's six-monthly report to the council's City Delivery Committee was met with remarks regarding the poaching of events from Mount Maunganui.

The Ulysses club has been ‘poached' by Papamoa, according to Papamoa Unlimited deputy chairman David Hill.

The retail and business-focussed group, who administer the targeted rate for Papamoa Mainstreet, received its first payment in November 2014, which it subsequently spent on the highly successful Santa Parade.

Deputy chairman David Hill says the organisation has also poached the Ulysses Motorcycle Club Easter egg run from the Mount, as well as the New Zealand longboard championships.

Cr Robson told David he did not want the council to be placed in a situation where mainstreet-funded bodies are playing off against each other.

David says the term poaching was used 'tongue in cheek”, and that The Ulysses Club was looking for a bigger venue.

'They were looking for a new route anyway,” he adds. 'They were restricted in the Mount to 300-to-400.”

Mainstreet funding supports a part-time co-ordinator who arranges events, which are to be self-funded and self-managed, says David.

The inaugural Santa Parade attracted 10,000 spectators and 54 floats in November.

Using Papamoa Unlimited as a co-ordinated voice for local retailers also led to a successful Christmas Shop and Win competition, which attracted 11,000 entries that will be used as a database to promote future events.

The plan for the coming year includes setting up a local database, the development of a website for local businesses and Papamoa's inaugural winter festival, which is already in the planning stages.