A row has erupted after a ruling over surf schools operating in Shark Alley, a popular surf spot in Mt Maunganui, with public outrage that 'no-one owns the beach”, and fears that 'foreigners” are pushing out local business.

On the flip side, the operators of one surf school have contacted police about 'xenophobic and threatening comments” from some in the community.

Mount surfer Trav McCoy has been surfing in the area since he was ten years old, and has taught surfing for five years, mostly on Mount Main Beach.

He says he has recently been told by council he can no longer operate there, as two other schools have paid for a licence.

'It's a hard pill to digest ... I'm just your mellow surf guy, but our rights have been robbed, and we have been attacked.”

McCoy says that in recent years there has been an 'explosion in surf schools” in the area but he has helped others such as House of Surf who started their business two years ago.

He says he feels betrayed that House of Surf and another school approached council over who can work off the beach.

McCoy, who has spoken to Stuff in the past about a brain tumour, says he will lose his livelihood, South Pacific Surf, as he will not be able to sustain his business with the new rule.

'They have licences to operate on the marine reserve, on the grass area, but we have all always worked on the beach. Council has now told me that I have to move way further down.

'Council can't rule over who can go in the water – but if I wanted to go to Shark Alley I would have to paddle my class there from a few kilometres down the beach which is ridiculous.

'You can't put seven-year-olds on boards and paddle them along the sea – it's insane.”

Haley Ross, who surfs at McCoy's school with her children, says this ruling will be unsafe.

'That's ridiculous to expect him to paddle children in the water. We all want our children to be safe, and Shark Alley is the perfect spot as the lifeguards are on patrol there, it's protected by two rocks, and it's easy to swim out there. He's a lovely guy, and always held lessons there, so it doesn't seem fair that he is the one being booted out. It's awful that it has got ugly – it feels like he is being bullied.”

McCoy says it will be a fairer system to allocate time slots on the beach.

'A solution would be that we operate at certain times, or put flags on the beach as a designated spot where we each are, so then there is room for all.”

When McCoy reached out to locals on community message boards he was overwhelmingly backed by 'Mounties” who vowed to support him by petitioning council and boycotting other business, claiming the ruling was 'bullshit” and 'not the Mount vibe.”

'A true local surfer that has dedicated time and energy to give back to the sport doesn't deserve to be treated like this in his home town,” says one.

Others say they would be approaching local iwi.

House of Surf co-owner Rowan Clifford says there has been no intention to drive any business away and they approached council for 'clarity”.

A meeting had been held at the end of last year and council had made the ruling this month, he says.

'Until this, we were all friends. We would be open to reaching some compromise. We simply wanted to seek clarity over a licence which we paid for, but also because it had become a health and safety issue with too many operators in the same area.”

Clifford says House of Surf has been in business for two years, and they and another surf school, Hibiscus Surf School, have the licence to operate off main beach.

He says neither he nor his partner wished to drive anyone out of business, and that everyone has been friends before.

'Everyone wants to be here because of the location, but with the explosion in surf schools that has become untenable because there would be too many people in Shark Alley.”

Clifford contacted police after he and his partner felt 'threatened” by 'xenophobic” comments, with people calling them 'blow ins” and 'not locals”.

One comment on social media sighted by Stuff suggested 'a few smashed kneecaps and some broken fingers would sort a few discrepancies”.

'We have young children and are just trying to make a living like everyone else,” says Clifford.

'We really hope we can sort this out amicably.”

Rebecca Manning, owner of Hibiscus Surf School, says she's deeply saddened by personal attacks which included xenophobic comments about where she was from.

'Hibiscus is a labour of love for me. We're a small, community focused business. We are proud of our work with people with disabilities, mental health organisations, and several others.”

"We have applied for and received a licence to operate on Main Beach for over 12 years...Council has consulted with all five surf schools, Surfing NZ and BOP regional council, and are now requiring commercial businesses to abide by the terms of their licences."

Manning says she welcomes competition and has always been supportive of Travis.

"If Trav wants to operate in this market, that's great, but he has to play by the rules. We're deeply sad about the personal attacks, the misrepresentations, and the begging for special treatment on Trav's part. We don't deserve that.”

Tauranga City Council spaces and places operations manager Warren Aitken says permission is required if using council land for commercial purposes, and that the rules for trading in public places were set out in Council's Street Use & Public Places Bylaw 2018.

He says surf schools are expected to operate in the area according to their respective licences.

'Council currently tenders five sites for operating surf schools from Mount Main Beach through to Tay Street, with the sites spread out to keep distance between operators.

'As part of tendered licence agreements, council expects all foreshore operators, not just surf schools, to operate from their tendered location as per their agreement.”

Aitken says the conditions of the licences, including the location were intended to 'protect the public from nuisance” as well as maintaining health and safety, and managing the space for 'the wellbeing and enjoyment of the public”.

McCoy says that although it's a tender process, he has been given no reason why he hasn't been allocated a licence for his preferred spot near Shark Alley.

'Now I'm like the black sheep who's been pushed out down the coast away from where I've always been. It's not that I want to stir trouble, I've been in tears and upset by it all – this is my life and it just doesn't seem fair.”

-Annemarie Quill/Stuff.