{"id":461485,"date":"2026-06-05T00:50:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T00:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/461485\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T00:50:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T00:50:33","slug":"sunlive-controversial-container-terminal-leaving-katikati","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/461485\/","title":{"rendered":"SunLive – Controversial container terminal leaving Katikati"},"content":{"rendered":"

A shipping container terminal at the northern entrance to Katikati, which the community called an \u201ceyesore\u201d, is moving to Hamilton.<\/p>\n

Former site owner Ray Cobb said the whole situation had been \u201ca storm in a teacup\u201d and trucks would continue to travel through the town daily regardless of the container yard moving.<\/p>\n

Only now, the income the business brought to the town would be gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of businesses that benefited from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some residents, however, are welcoming the move.<\/p>\n

The industrial site alongside State Highway 2\/Waterford Rd is near Uretara Domain and accessed from Phillip Walter Drive, a residential street.<\/p>\n

A spokesman from the shipping container company said the business faced a lot of backlash from the community for being an \u201ceyesore\u201d, as well as for noise and dust from the yard.<\/p>\n

He said the move to Hamilton was not due to the backlash but to concerns following recent extreme weather events that closed key roads to Auckland and Tauranga.<\/p>\n

The spokesman said the business thought moving into the Katikati area would have been a good thing for employment and for a cash injection for local businesses, such as vehicle services.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve invested at least half a million dollars into the Katikati community between service providers in the last nine months and that\u2019s something they won\u2019t gain next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Many

\nMany locals were annoyed with the level of noise and appearance of the industrially zoned site when it was operating as a shipping container terminal.<\/p>\n

Several locals who were hired as truck drivers would no longer work for the company when it moved, he said.<\/p>\n

He said after community members posted complaints about the operation on Facebook, the Western Bay of Plenty District Council checked the operations at the site.<\/p>\n

He said they found \u201cwe were actually not stacking as high as we were allowed\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said the company tried to work with the community and be a good neighbour, for example not operating during the A&P show at the Uretara Domain in February, and taking steps to prevent dust blowing on to the fields.<\/p>\n

He said the company was moving to a purpose-built site in Hamilton.<\/p>\n

The business had stopped operating at the site, and its lease would end in July.<\/p>\n

\"

\nThe site this week – containers are no longer visible. <\/p>\n

The man spoke to Local Democracy Reporting on the condition the company was not named.<\/p>\n

Current landowner, Thor Hein, said the site would be repurposed into self-storage, including for boats, campervans and caravans.<\/p>\n

He said the site would be upgraded before reopening, including new fencing, painting and tidying up the appearance.<\/p>\n

Hein said the whole town had given the company \u201cabsolute reprimand\u201d despite the operation being allowed under the district plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey haven\u2019t been treated fairly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said heaps of container trucks were coming through the town all day long anyway.<\/p>\n

Katch Katikati promotions manager Jacqui Knight said the containers had sparked a lot of discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we support our local businesses and understand why the site is being used, we also care about the first impression our town gives.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said better maintenance of the grass and trees, and perhaps some screening, would have helped.<\/p>\n

\"Katch

\nKatch Katikati promotions manager Jacqui Knight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith some improvements to the look of the entrance, perhaps the containers wouldn\u2019t stand out as much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katikati resident Jennifer Slade said she understood the land was zoned industrial, but the container terminal created noise, traffic problems and brought more container trucks to town.<\/p>\n

In her view, the noise and inconvenience to local residents was \u201cincomprehensible\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur footpaths are disgusting, and gutters are always dirty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Western

\nWestern Bay of Plenty District Council Katikati-Waih\u012b Beach ward councillor Rodney Joyce. Photo \/ John Borren<\/p>\n

Katikati ward councillor Rodney Joyce said the noise of the operation carried a long distance.<\/p>\n

He said he could hear it outside his home near the end of Park Rd.<\/p>\n

The biggest issues had been for the families living close to the site.<\/p>\n

He said the council checked that the company was following the district plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know they really tried to make this work.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the community was happy the company was moving.<\/p>\n

Fellow ward councillor, Allan Sole, said the neighbours would be pleased to see it go.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t the most wonderful thing to look at as you drove by.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have liked it next to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It had employed locals, however, and would be an \u201ceconomic loss\u201d to the area.<\/p>\n

\"Western

\nWestern Bay of Plenty District Council Katikati-Waih\u012b Beach ward councillor Allan Sole. Photo \/ John Borren<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great opportunity for Katikati to have another industry here, and it was putting money into the town.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said it would have been better if the company were on a different site, though it had been compliant with the rules.<\/p>\n

He said the council told him noise limits were not breached.<\/p>\n

Western Bay of Plenty District Council regulatory services general manager Alison Curtis said the council received 20 complaints about the site between November 2025 and the end of April 2026.<\/p>\n

Noise monitoring by council officers in March found no breaches.<\/p>\n

Ayla Yeoman<\/a> is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications, politics and international relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2022.<\/p>\n

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n

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