Maketu development pledge

A long-awaited $13 million sewage system for three Western Bay of Plenty seaside settlements will not mean the green light for rapid residential development.

The scheme for Maketu, Pukehina Beach and Little Waihi would not be a catalyst to change the villages dramatically, district mayor Graeme Weld said yesterday.

"It has not been designed to cater for a mass influx of new residents."

This is unlike Omokoroa, northwest of Tauranga, where a planned $20 million sewage scheme to cater for urbanisation is held up by an Environment Court appeal by ratepayers who do not want their seaside hideaway turned into another sprawling suburb.