It's home sweet home - but only for 42 days

By ANNE BESTON

Luxury Whitianga apartment owners will be given their marching orders if they stay too long, says the Thames Coromandel District Council.

No resident, not even those who fork out $786,000 for a penthouse, can stay more than 42 consecutive days in the "First Light Suites" complex after the developer agreed to the restriction to bypass planning rules.

Neighbours and a ratepayers' group were appalled when they saw the building plans, saying it was more suited to Australia's Gold Coast than their Coromandel town. At four storeys and covering 80 per cent of its prime waterfront site on the Esplanade, it will dwarf those around it.

So developer Husain Al-Saffaf withdrew an application for permanent accommodation and reclassified the building "travellers' accommodation", ensuring a smooth ride through the consent process.

"Rather than fight and delay getting a consent, we decided to sacrifice allowing people to live there permanently," said First Light's architect Brian Sharp, also chairman of the Thames Coromandel District Council policy and planning committee.

Council planning manager Mark White said the council would stand by its district plan.

"The building manager will keep a register and we will check it," he said. "Although, to be realistic, it's not going to get the same priority as someone doing, say, illegal earthworks."

Bain Cross, former council planner and author of the district plan - now a Thames-based independent consultant - said First Lights was a "travesty of the planning process".

The apartments were "straight out of Mission Bay", he said.

"It just isn't Whitianga but when push came to shove, we found the district plan didn't back our case."

Residents are demanding a plan change. "It's not genuine holiday accommodation, it's a way of getting round the rules," said Whitianga Ratepayers group and mayoral hopeful Dal Minogue.

Twelve of First Lights' 19 apartments have sold and a colonial homestead is being removed so building can begin.

Real estate agent Corinna Mansell said the apartments, priced from $450,000 to $780,000, had attracted interest from investors.

The restriction did not make sense.

"You can have people in the apartments every week of the year and yet you can't stay in them for 52 weeks of the year."