Good news on its way to Little Waihi homes

Little Waihi. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

Residents of a coastal village previously served with eviction notices will receive letters this week from their iwi landlord.

The Herald understands the letters will bring good news, effectively calling off planned evictions for the immediate future.

Almost 30 houses in Little Waihi, in the Bay of Plenty, were served eviction notices by landowner Te Arawa Lakes Trust in May, saying their sewage was polluting an estuary.

Resource consent to build a treatment plant was approved last month, mitigating the environmental issue.

But just two weeks ago letters were sent out that planned evictions still stood.

Brian Goldsbury, chairman of a joint working committee set up by Little Waihi and Te Arawa Lakes Trust, said yesterday that residents would get another letter in "the very near future".

"[It] will ease their concerns and highlight all relevant issues," Mr Goldsbury said.

The Herald understands the letters will advise residents of Little Waihi that evictions will not be enforced.

The letter from two weeks ago, which residents described as a "shock", was signed off by Te Arawa Management Ltd, an arm of the trust, rather than the trust itself.

That letter said the trust would meet residents to explain "what options you have to vacating the property".

"Note however that the notice of termination remains in effect," it said.

The letter came as residents began to feel confident about their situation following the approval of the sewage treatment facility, which had been progressing since an environmental report in 1997.

Appeals against the facility are due today, and to date none have been laid.

Many in the Little Waihi community have lived in the idyllic coastal spot for generations. When initially served with eviction notices, some residents said they would rather burn their homes to the ground than let them be taken over.