Businessman Trevor Taylor bought 6.2ha of the former Tomoana meat works plant in 1995, converting it to warehouses now owned by Heinz-Wattie's for its national distribution centre.
Less than a kilometre away is the former Whakatu meat works, which closed in the mid-1980s. Its transformation into an industrial park had been "unspectacular" compared to Tomoana.
Mr Taylor's legal counsel Alison McEwan made the point to the hearings committee reviewing her client's request for a private plan change to increase industrial land at Tomoana, specifically for food processing activities. The extra 16ha would be used to create a food hub complementing the adjacent Heinz-Wattie's site.
"Tomoana and Whakatu have grown into different types of areas. Tomoana is now full, it has reached its limit. I am asking you to think about what happens if this is not approved and someone at Tomoana needs to grow."
Ms McEwan said council planner Rowan Little's approach was to have future industrial activity at Whakatu because there was more land available there.
But she said Heinz-Wattie's wanted to keep its supply chain as short as possible and having potential suppliers around it at Tomoana would lock it into Hastings for the long-term.
Ms McEwan said the council did not require contracts with businesses to show demand when it rezoned land at Irongate and Omahu for industry and so did not see why Mr Taylor should provide similar documents with Heinz-Wattie's, for example, showing demand for the food hub.
Mr Taylor had however tabled a confidential contract identifying interest from a company looking to expand into Tomoana.
Ms McEwan said there was 26ha used for "wet industry" such as food processing, disputing comments there was only dry industry at Tomoana.