KEY POINTS:
Television celebrity and former All Black Marc Ellis has scored support for a bid to establish a cafe at Piha on Auckland's west coast.
Ellis and four surfing friends bought the village's old telephone exchange to convert into a 35-seat cafe, saying it would fill a gap in facilities for locals and visitors.
However, Waitakere City's district plan does not allow commercial development in coastal villages.
The partnership's company, Preserve Piha, is seeking resource consents from both the Waitakere City Council and Auckland Regional Council to let the venture go ahead.
A city council spokesman said yesterday that 199 submissions were received, of which 108 were in favour and 87 against.
The company's application to the ARC to treat wastewater on site drew 120 submissions, of which 74 were in support and 45 against.
A joint council hearing of the consent bids will be held next month.
"We seem to have a mandate from the community, which is encouraging," said Henderson businessman Andy Higgs, a partner in Preserve Piha.
"Our advisers have done a thorough job in meeting the key issues of wastewater treatment, the visual impact of the place, traffic, landscaping, noise and lighting.
"It's not about bringing growth - it's not a shopping centre, just a little cafe on a site already used for commercial purposes," Mr Higgs said.
Protect Piha Heritage spokesman Peter Hosking said objectors felt the development would compound water pollution, road and pedestrian safety and litter and noise problems already being experienced at Piha.
The ARC, which runs a regional park at Piha, will not make a submission on the land use consents.
The city council said that while a majority of submitters favoured the cafe, this did not guarantee it would be granted resource consent. This was decided on the extent of compliance with the Resource Management Act.
