Max Key is making progress building new houses on vacant Auckland land earlier described as an “eyesore”, but has still managed to cheese off neighbours with an early morning delivery of concrete.

The son of former prime minister Sir John Key earlier purchased a block of Point Chevalier land on St Michaels Ave through his property development company MTK Capital.

However, a collection of residents last year accused Key’s company of bringing down the leafy suburban street’s “character” by turning the land into an eyesore.

They said Key moved three rundown bungalows from elsewhere in the city and then left them on the St Michaels section, virtually untouched for more than one year.

Key’s team apologised at the time, saying the delays were largely caused by Covid.

They have since obtained building consent on June 7 and are now pressing ahead with the goal of completing the boutique new homes by June next year, Key’s project manager Oliver Austen, said.

But recently a resident posted on a Facebook community page, claiming they were being woken early by construction work on Key’s project.

“Is anyone else getting annoyed at waking early from the noise at Max Key’s property? Especially on Saturdays? Today it started at 6:45.”

A view of a bungalow last year that had been sitting on the Point Chevalier development site in a state of disrepair. Photo / Michael Craig

Auckland Council’s David Frith confirmed it had “received one complaint about construction noise at 43 Michaels Avenue, Point Chevalier”.

“This related to a concrete truck operating on site at 6:45am. A noise control officer visited the site and spoke with the foreman, clarifying that there are lower noise limits before 7:30am and construction should not be in full operation before this time,” he said.

Austen said he was aware of the incident.

“That was last Saturday and basically the truck arrived at 7am,” he said.

“A concrete truck has to have its engine on.”

“I’ve got CCTV footage of it not starting until 7.30am ... closer to 8am.”

Austen said his team always try to do their best for the neighbours.

“I know a lot of them, I’ve spoken to a lot of the neighbours, trying to make sure we have a good relationship with them,” he said.

He said the project is also making good progress after getting building consent on June 7.

“We’ve done a lot in a very short amount of time,” he said.

A view of the Point Chevalier property owned by Max Key's company MTK Capital. Photo / Michael Craig

It comes after neighbours last October said they were unhappy with the state in which the company had left the property.

The three bungalows could be seen from the road at the time, sitting on raised wooden pallets, with smashed glass panels, swathes of missing roofs and in a general state of disrepair with windows and doors blowing open.

“Everyone in the street is pretty proud of their properties and what we’ve achieved,” one nearby neighbour told the Herald.

“But he’s gone and left this eyesore in our street.”

The residents said they wanted Key to start work soon on developing the land, which sits close to some multi-million dollar homes with sea views.

Key’s MTK Capital owns the land, having paid just over $3 million for it in 2020.

A spokesman for MTK Capital last October said there were measures beyond the company’s control.

“We apologise for the delays and appreciate the frustration,” the spokesman said.

“The original plan was for three houses on the site - they were consented and moved onto the site in August 2021.

“Then Covid slowed the process down and by the latter part of the year it became clear to us that three properties was too many for the site.”

MTK Capital then applied in early 2022 to change the development to “two high-quality homes”.

The spokesman said at the time they were still awaiting council sign-off but understood it was not far away.

“They will be four-bedroom homes with swimming pools with a value of around $4m, which is more in keeping with the site,” he said.