There is overwhelming opposition to plans for a housing development at Mahia Peninsula in northern Hawke's Bay.
A consent hearing has begun in Wairoa for an application by former All Black Murray Mexted and two business partners to subdivide land at Mahanga Beach.
The businessmen have made applications to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the Wairoa District Council, which include constructing buildings and a waste water system within a coastal hazard zone and diverting a stream.
Of the 220 submissions the three commissioners are considering, all but five are against the development.
Objectors are concerned that the development will have an adverse affect on the archaeological and cultural value of the land and that it will ruin the unspoiled character of the local environment.
