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Regional | Business

Hearing underway for proposed hotel in Te Koutu

A two-day resource consent hearing into a proposed hotel was held in Rotorua recently where 126 written objections were submitted, the majority are from local residents living in Te Koutu.

Applicants who have applied for resource consent to build a proposed hotel complex in Te Koutu say the complex will cater for over 200 guests and will employ 20 staff.

“It's in the wrong zone and these been no consultation with Iwi with Māori with the Marae of which there are five in and around the site,” says Natalie Richards (Te Arawa).

The proposed 100 room hotel complex will be situated in this vacant area on Bennetts Road in Te Koutu.

APR Architects spokesperson Roger Willard says, “We are not designing a hard edge modem architectural state with a lot of class insert, it will be a very soft edged.”

In September last year, the Chinese owners who want to build the hotel complex were met with opposition from the community. The owners didn't want to comment until the hearings are completed. Some Te Koutu residents say they're prepared to fight it.

“I say to all the other communities out there you fight it, because this is why we are here, we are fighting for Te Koutu and we are going to put our stake in the ground our pou in the ground to say no, no hotel in residential zones in Rotorua,” says Aroha Hicks (Te Arawa, Te Aitanga o Mahaki).

The hearings continue tomorrow.