\u2018They have taken over\u2019<\/p>\n
The Bay of Plenty Times spoke with numerous CBD businesses, and many reported experiencing aggressive encounters and disruption.<\/p>\n
Penny Henderson, who owns The Pottery Studio, said the business had moved from Devonport Rd to 10th Ave, in part because of issues caused by the homeless in the CBD.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could become quite aggressive. We\u2019ve had one get really angry outside and start kicking things. Police came and took him away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many would shout and yell at nothing \u2013 \u201cyou take a wide berth of those ones\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Pottery Studio was on Devonport Rd in the Tauranga CBD, but has moved to 10th Ave. Photo \/ Ayla Yeoman<\/p>\n
Henderson said they had been \u201clucky\u201d the neighbouring business was open during the same hours and would help when issues arose.<\/p>\n
The Barrio Brothers and Sugo owner Josh Fitzgerald said everyone was trying to make Tauranga CBD a more attractive place, and the homelessness situation was not helping.<\/p>\n
\u201cBelongings are scattered all through the public space. They have full campsites.\u201d<\/p>\n
He had no issue with homeless people sitting and begging for money, but \u201cthey have taken over\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the CBD business owners who suffer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating because it just seems like everyone is powerless to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Restaurateur Josh Fitzgerald. Photo \/ File<\/p>\n
Fitzgerald said a homeless person broke into one of his restaurants one night last year.<\/p>\n
He said he did not receive any compensation for the damage caused.<\/p>\n
Tranquillo Beauty Clinic owner Dani Sheridan said she and her staff had experienced multiple \u201cunpleasant\u201d interactions with the homeless on Grey St.<\/p>\n
\u201cA staff member of mine was almost bitten by one of their dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staffer Moenah O\u2019Shea said a few weeks ago a car parked up beside hers with two women who seemed to be living in it.<\/p>\n
She noticed a large, muscular dog, similar to a pitbull, hanging around the car, which made her nervous.<\/p>\n
\u201cI slowly kept walking to my car and all of a sudden the dog just barked, growled, and then ran straight at me and jumped on me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tranquillo Beauty Clinic staff member Moenah O\u2019Shea and owner Dani Sheridan outside the Grey St business. Photo \/ Ayla Yeoman<\/p>\n
As she turned away, a bottle of wine in her bag hit the dog, confusing it and providing enough time for its owner to notice what was happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two ladies just kept yelling at the dog rather than coming over and escorting their dog away.\u201d<\/p>\n
She \u201cfreaked out\u201d when she saw another dog coming from the front of the car, but managed to escape into her vehicle.<\/p>\n
During the nearly four years she had been working on Grey St, O\u2019Shea said, she had noticed the homeless people in the area becoming more aggressive.<\/p>\n
Customers often told her how unsafe they felt with people sitting in doorways, arguing in the street and causing disturbances.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to rebuild town, and having something like this makes people go to malls instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheridan said they tried to be empathetic, but when clients felt intimidated they had to step in.<\/p>\n
Stassano Deli on Grey St has also had problems with the homeless. Photo \/ Ayla Yeoman<\/p>\n
Stassano Deli store manager Louise Pretorius said one man in particular was causing problems for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sits or lies on the benches, throwing empty coffee cups that trash our entrances.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother homeless lady walks up Grey St every morning and swears at everyone she walks past. When she passes Stassano, she shouts at us while we set up shop in the mornings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Satori owner Lisa Wilson said there were often homeless people in nearby Masonic Park.<\/p>\n
The owner of Satori, on The Strand, says there are often homeless people in nearby Masonic Park. Photo \/ Ayla Yeoman<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one table in our little courtyard that we just try not to sit people at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson said she had to go out every day with buckets of bleach to pour around Masonic Park to eliminate the smell where people had urinated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely impacted my business just with the time and effort of cleaning up the smell.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really feel for those people, because they obviously need help. I\u2019m not pointing the finger \u2026 it\u2019s just frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson said business owners had been advised to contact the council, and the safety team would handle it, which she found helpful.<\/p>\n
Downtown Tauranga manager Genevieve Whitson said the organisation worked with the council and police to tackle homelessness-related issues.<\/p>\n
She said the council\u2019s City Safety Engagement Team supported CBD businesses with safety and security, and had been doing an \u201cexcellent\u201d job of helping address homelessness issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the city centre continues to transform, Downtown Tauranga will continue to work with key stakeholders to support safety and security for our businesses and visitors to the city centre.\u201d<\/p>\n
Downtown Tauranga manager Genevieve Whitson. Photo \/ John Borren<\/p>\n
Many \u2018not equipped\u2019 for housing<\/p>\n
Charitable trust Under the Stars offers free meals for homeless and needy people on Thursdays and Saturdays at Cliff Rd in the city centre.<\/p>\n
Strategic partnership and funding manager Ani Stace said she sympathised with the businesses.<\/p>\n
Since joining the charity in 2021, she had seen the homelessness situation worsen because of the rising cost of living, with numbers at the meals more than doubling.<\/p>\n
She said getting into state housing was \u201cextremely difficult\u201d, with long waiting lists and extra hurdles for people with criminal records.<\/p>\n
Ani Stace, strategic partnership and funding manager for Under the Stars, says it’s important to realise everyone has a story.<\/p>\n
It was important to realise everyone had a story. She had met many people with unresolved trauma and \u201clayers of issues\u201d to be addressed before they could manage being a responsible tenant.<\/p>\n
Most people living rough in the CBD were \u201cnot equipped to move into housing\u201d, Stace said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil that support is offered, then there is absolutely no way that homelessness will improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said organisations helping the homeless were collaborating more than ever, and she commended the council staff connecting people with \u201cwrap-around support\u201d.<\/p>\n
While some in the homeless population responded well to respectful approaches, other times the \u201conly solution\u201d was involving the police.<\/p>\n
Belongings in the doorway of a vacant premises on The Strand in Tauranga. Photo \/ Ayla Yeoman<\/p>\n
Aggressive behaviour often stemmed from drug use, but many felt \u201crejected and judged\u201d by the community, and this could contribute to their sometimes unwarranted reactions.<\/p>\n
Stace encouraged people to avoid making judgments based on stereotypes.<\/p>\n
Community Housing Aotearoa policy and practice manager Amanda Kelly said the increase in homelessness in Tauranga was consistent with reports of increasing homelessness nationwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s alarming because visible homelessness is only the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat lies beneath is hidden homelessness \u2026 people living in overcrowded situations, couch surfing, people living in sheds or in temporary accommodation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly said homelessness was spreading beyond city centres into suburbs and regions, with transience on the rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cYouth, older people and women are also increasingly affected, with one third of women who experience homelessness identifying as M\u0101ori.\u201d<\/p>\n
Community Housing Aotearoa policy and practice manager Amanda Kelly.<\/p>\n
The sector welcomed the additional government funding for housing first, transitional housing and outreach services last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore is needed, as well as long-term solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what works \u2013 collaboration, culturally grounded responses, and more affordable housing with appropriate support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly said addressing homelessness required recognising that it was not just about housing, but about health, addiction, trauma, and poverty.<\/p>\n
Complaints rise<\/p>\n
Homelessness-related complaints to the Tauranga City Council\u2019s customer service centre increased by 156.73% between 2021 and 2025.<\/p>\n
Complaints hit 706 in 2024\/25, and were largely related to welfare concerns, rough sleeping in public spaces and antisocial behaviour around shopfronts.<\/p>\n
The council\u2019s 2025 Residents\u2019 Survey found 85% of respondents believed homelessness in Tauranga was an issue in the past 12 months, a sentiment that had \u201csignificantly increased\u201d since 2024.<\/p>\n
Its regulatory and community services acting general manager, Alex Miller, said recent Census data showed an increase in severe housing deprivation in Tauranga and New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Reasons for rising complaints included a bigger homeless population making the issue more visible in public, high-needs individuals drawing numerous complaints, and increased council engagement efforts \u201cbringing to light\u201d previously unreported issues.<\/p>\n
The council\u2019s regulatory and compliance services general manager, Sarah Omundsen, said homelessness patterns shifted with the seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cColder months see more people using covered areas, while summer increases visibility in parks and reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tauranga City Council regulatory and compliance services general manager, Sarah Omundsen, says the homeless become more visible in summer. Photo \/ Alex Cairns<\/p>\n
She said encampments existed in several locations across Tauranga, and some individuals chose to avoid emergency accommodation because of previous negative experiences, strict rules, or safety concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cHomelessness is a complex social issue \u2026 driven by national housing pressures, mental health and addiction challenges, family violence, and the limited availability of appropriate emergency and long-term housing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Jacob Davies said MSD supported wh\u0101nau experiencing housing hardship to help them find somewhere to stay.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work alongside agencies including K\u0101inga Tupu, which leads the collective approach to addressing homelessness across Tauranga, along with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, police and Tauranga council to support a co-ordinated response to housing hardship.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ministry\u2019s housing register had 660 applicants in Tauranga on the waiting list for public housing in September, which was fewer than in the past few years but about 100 more than in 2020.<\/p>\n
Western Bay of Plenty Police area prevention manager Inspector Zane Smith. Photo \/ George Novak <\/p>\n
The area prevention manager for the Western Bay of Plenty police, Inspector Zane Smith, said homelessness was not a criminal matter, but a complex social issue requiring a multi-agency approach.<\/p>\n
Police engaged with various community groups on the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to monitor behaviour in public spaces across Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty and have put processes in place to increase police visibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said police action and enforcement were undertaken when appropriate and when a crime had been committed.<\/p>\n