"There are probably other suppliers, perhaps locally, who could do something similar," he said.
"We will find that out when we go to the market.
"It is a fairly specialised product though, due to the requirement for the precise curvature of the timber slats."
Heather Gibbs, deputy chair on Martinborough Community Board, said no decision had been made on the seating and the design.
The quote for $28,000 was irrelevant and was not an appropriate amount, she said.
Martinborough resident Julie Clarke said the estimates were overpriced.
"It's too much money to be spent on something that's not really used."
She said she rarely sees the square full of people except when tourists came for events.
"There are better ways the money could be spent."
Chair of Martinborough Business Association, Frank Cornelissen, said the seating and associated gardens shown in plans looked pretty substantial.
"The square is very important to us as a wine village and it's good to hear that there is progress on the seating.
"In my experience as a holiday park operator, the cost doesn't seem out of the ordinary."
Mr Allingham said while the amount sounded like a lot of money, it was on the low end of the scale for public works.
It's not the council's place to comment on whether that's too much for seating in the square, he said.
He said the community board would make the final call and had a good grasp on the town's priorities.
"In this case the works have come from the Martinborough Community Board to be done.
"As a community board, they represent the community and have a good understanding of the needs of the community."
The square was often used for fairs, festivals and the annual barrel race, said Mr Allingham.
"It gets used a hell of a lot."
This was good for the general community and businesses in the area, he said.
"It would be easy to find other things to spend the money on but that is just trading one thing off for another."
