Consent panel urged to back five-star hotel plan

St Paul's Cathedral and the Municipal Chambers frame an image of the proposed hotel in Moray Pl, Dunedin. Photo / Supplied

The team behind Dunedin's latest five-star hotel bid has urged a consent panel to back the project, as a hearing to decide the project's fate begins.

Phil Page, the lawyer acting for the man behind the project, Tekapo businessman Anthony Tosswill, made the comment during opening submissions on Monday morning.

Page told the panel the building's height - a key concern for many submitters opposed to the project - had never been raised as an issue during talks with the Dunedin City Council during the project's gestation.

The only adverse affect arising from the hotel's height was shading of public spaces, including the Octagon, he said.

The hotel's design aimed to mitigate that, as much as possible, by opting for a taller, narrower design, which would minimise the duration of shading in affected areas, he said.

"The maximum extent of sunshine into the Octagon as is possible has been preserved, whilst still enabling a five-star hotel to be established," he said.

Evidence from Mr Tosswill's team would show the economic benefits from the hotel would "vastly outweigh the cost of the sunshine loss", Page said.

Mr Tosswill was expected to address the panel later this afternoon, and the applicant's case would conclude late on Monday or early on Tuesday.

The first submitters were expected to speak on Tuesday, and the hearing was expected to continue until at least Friday.