A large sinkhole which appeared yesterday caused consternation among residents of a Punakaiki neighbourhood.
The hole is estimated at three metres wide but includes a narrow section about five metres deeper which angles down to an underground waterway.
It's located on road reserve land at the junction of Hartmount Place and Ross Place where the owner of a section put in driveway access to and across his property in December.
Neighbours living in an adjoining property said they were alerted to the hole yesterday morning by a tenant living on the other side of the driveway.
He had placed a section of old wooden fence in front of the hole to prevent a person or vehicle falling in.
Other residents said they had wondered when the development began what kind of site evaluation had been carried out as the local karst topography is known for its tomos (sinkholes or entrances to caves).
Hartmount Place resident Richard Arlidge said that was the problem with building in that environment.
"You never can tell when you're going to come across an underground water system or cave system."
He said a couple of years ago a hole emerged in his driveway, built 30 years ago, which was also on a road reserve.
