Bay's sausage wars firing up

James Campbell, Marques Jones, Jayden Jones, Alecia Whakatau, Ihaka Kohu, Te Hinemairangi Kohu and Evan Campbell all enjoyed the new barbecue down at Pilot Bay yesterday afternoon. Photo / Ruth Keber

Pilot Bay's sausage war saga is set to continue with local residents complaining to Tauranga City Council just three hours after a new barbecue was put up on Wednesday.

The offending barbecue was set up early on Wednesday morning, despite some Pilot Bay residents trying to veto it by complaining to council about "the smell and sounds" from the barbecue area.

It was built more than 50 metres north of the proposed original site near Salisbury Wharf, closer to the Mount and on the beach side of the boardwalk, according to Councillor Clayton Mitchell who admitted the new site has not kept everyone happy.

"It was only up for about three hours and I had a couple of calls complaining about it," he said. "It went in around 7am and my phone was ringing by 10am.

"People were saying it was disgraceful, but I think it is an asset. It did not cost the city anything and the family that donated it wanted people to enjoy the area."

Earlier this month about 25 people turned up for a protest cook-in to highlight the "ridiculous" concerns about the barbecue.

The group was formed by Tauranga historian and cultural adviser Buddy Mikaere, who used Facebook to spark debate about beach residents hampering the possible instalment of a public barbecue.

"It's ridiculous because barbies, beaches, kids doing stuff - it all goes together," Mr Mikaere said.

And yesterday families were already enjoying it, cooking up a storm after an afternoon swim.

They told the Bay of Plenty Times they couldn't believe people had protested about cooking at the beach.

"We love it down here. We all meet up here. It's a great place to get together with family and friends," Jayden Jones said.

"The barbecue is a great idea, it adds to the atmosphere."