A council plan to introduce paid parking in New Zealand’s most popular beach town has been lashed with fierce opposition from businesses and residents.

A recent survey reveals 85 per cent are “strongly” against, saying it will “kill the town”, and be “the beginning of the end.”

Mount Maunganui is a year-round hotspot, and consistently rated one of the best beaches in the world.

Mount businesses gathered at a feisty face-off over breakfast on Wednesday, and didn’t hold back airing their views to Tauranga City Council parking strategy manager Reece Wilkinson.

Paid parking along the beach fronts, down Mt Maunganui’s main drag of boutique shopping and eateries, and in residential areas had been presented by Wilkinson in a “draft plan” in a council meeting last month – with aims to lock it in for this summer.

“Why?” was the question on everyone’s lips at the Wednesday meeting.

Locals Stuff spoke to say they believe it's pure “money-grabbing” on council’s part, with no concern for the town’s identity as a much-loved international tourist region.

Paid parking could generate revenue of $1.5m, according to the draft plan.

Wilkinson says that council is following in the footsteps Tauranga CBD, which already has paid parking.

This has been touted for one of the reasons the country’s fastest growing city has “dead vibes” in its city centre, with businesses moving out, and no visitors.

Jay Thomas, director, Saltwater - Seafood Grill & Oyster Bar, says paid marking would kill the Mount and says council have not answered the question "why".

“Paid parking will kill the Mount. Look what happened when they introduced it in Tauranga CBD – it’s dead,” says Jay Thomas, who owns Saltwater, a bustling Mount seafood and oyster bar.

“Hospitality in the Mount is way up on Tauranga because the Mount is buzzing, it’s where people and tourists come.”

The draft plan saysit aims “to reduce the amount of traffic circling the area to locate a carpark”.

Business owners like Thomas say that's “ridiculous”.

“Paid parking makes no sense – we’re not being given any credible reason. It’s not going to solve traffic issues, it’s going to add to them. I’m a resident too, so do all the residents have to hunt a park too?

“It will be the beginning of the end,” says businessman Keith Livingstone, who owns two Mount clothes stores and commercial properties, and has lived in the area all his life – one of Mount’s most sought after residential streets. Grace Avenue, is named after his grandmother.

“Summer at the Mount is something special in New Zealand that we should protect for people who live here and for people who come to experience it. Not just visitors from this country, but millions on cruise ships, backpackers, other tourists.

“People are not going to browse or stop for a coffee if they have to pay for parking. We all work hard at our businesses and pay expensive rates, and council can’t give a good reason for doing this apart from them making money.”

Restaurant owner Matt Haywood told Stuff charging for parking is “against the Mount vibe”.

“The beach is about the only thing left in New Zealand people enjoy for free. Paid meters at the beach is beyond ridiculous. Hospitality has already done it tough in the last years – so to put another barrier between people deciding to come and eat or shop is going to be a big problem for businesses, and for visitors.”

Mount Backpackers owner Jo Veale says it's being rushed through for this summer.

“It feels like the commissioners we haven’t voted for are rushing projects through, and not listening to us, which is the duty of a local council when we pay rates which have gone up. We work and live here, so they need to listen to us.”

Tauranga is the only city in New Zealand without a democratically elected council –government appointed commissioners have been in place since February 2021 and will remain until July 2024.

Wilkinson says that given the strong feedback from the community, it's now unlikely that there will be any changes this summer.

There are currently 2600 parking spaces in the area with 83 per cent of these having no time limits. The main street has a 60-minute parking limit and nearby areas have two-hour limits.

A recent survey by Mount Business Association revealed that 85 per cent of businesses in hospitality, retail and services are against the plan.

Asked by Stuff if council would shelve the plans given a clear majority are completely against it, Wilkinson says the focus will now be on getting feedback from the public.

A period of public consultation will follow in November, he says.

Restaurateur Matt Hayward thinks that’s “bull....”.

“They have already made up their minds, knowing this council, and eyed it as a revenue stream. But they are up against a passionate, hard-working lot here who love the Mount and want to keep it how it is for everyone to come and enjoy. We are not going to let this happen without a fight.”

-Annemarie Quill/Stuff.