Developer facing more charges

Shannon Tawhiti.

A property developer accused of relocating old houses without consent is facing charges relating to six homes he is accused of illegally moving onto four Hastings properties.

Havelock North businessman Shannon Tawhiti was originally due to face the charges in Hastings District Court yesterday but his first appearance was adjourned by a registrar until May 15.

One of the charges relates to the relocation of a house onto a Flaxmere section in January where it stayed for only a few days before what a local resident described as a "miraculous" removal.

A house was moved back onto the same section last week.

The other charges relate to three homes moved onto a section on Totara St, Mahora, and houses moved onto two adjoining properties in the same residential block, but accessed from nearby Williams St.

Hastings District Council began investigating Mr Tawhiti's relocation activities after complaints from Totara St residents when the three houses were moved onto the property in their street in January.

The Flaxmere relocation, to a section on Tarbet St in January, perplexed neighbours at the time because the building disappeared only a few days after it was brought onto the site.

"It's miraculous.

"Even the piles have gone," a local told Hawke's Bay Today at the time.

But the house - or one similar to it - is now back on the property after being shifted there again last Thursday, another local said.

A Hastings District Council spokeswoman said Mr Tawhiti was granted resource consent to move a house onto the Tarbet St section in February, the month after his alleged illegal relocation there.

The council issued Mr Tawhiti with an abatement notice after he moved the three houses onto the Totara St property but later granted him retrospective resource consent to allow the buildings to stay on the site.

While the retrospective consent meant the buildings could stay, the council has charged him with breaching the Hastings district plan by putting the buildings on the site prior to consent being granted.

Each of the four charges he faces carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail or a $300,000 fine.