Latest news with #QuietSkyWaitematā
NZ Herald
14-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
'Gorgeous, beautiful site': Opposition mounts against Westmere helipad plan
Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' home at Westmere. Photo / Alex Burton Several submitters at the resource consent hearing before three independent planning commissioners have supported the helipad, including Andrew Haslett, who said every concern had been addressed, every environmental safeguard had been put in place, and the applicants had gone above and beyond to mitigate every potential impact. One nearby neighbour, Matthew Lambert, said it had been a transparent process, the applicants had addressed community concerns and modified their plans, which complied with the Auckland Unitary Plan. Elena Keith at the hearing for the proposed helipad. Elena Keith, the secretary of Quiet Sky Waitematā, today said Williams and Mowbray's property 'is a gorgeous, beautiful site' that the group wants to preserve. She said Quiet Sky Waitematā - a group set up to oppose private helicopters in residential Auckland - was still quite young, with 17 members, and 202 donors had provided funds to challenge the proposed helipad. The group's lawyer, Gill Chappell, said Quiet Sky was a well-organised community group that was deeply and genuinely concerned about the broad effects of helicopter activity on the environment. She said the effects on the birds, trees, and amenity were more than minor, and the application must be declined. Dr Matthew Baber, an ecologist providing expert evidence for Quiet Sky, believed there would be at least moderate effects on the coastal birds foraging or resting during the two hours on either side of low tide. He also believed there would be a low likelihood but high impact of potential for bird strike from helicopter disturbance to coastal birds foraging during that low-tide window. Waitematā Local Board member Alex Bonham said the board wanted helicopter movements in urban residential areas to be prohibited in the Auckland Unitary Plan. She said thousands of people in Westmere and Herne Bay had opposed the application. 'Westmere is a quiet residential area with coastal walks and activities. Residents do not want to hear helicopters coming and going every week, perhaps multiple times. 'Residents of Herne Bay who already endured helicopter noise had been campaigning hard on this issue for many years because of the stress and distress experienced by those living in the proximity of already consented helipads. 'We share the concerns that if this were to be granted, it would set a precedent that might lead to more and more helipads across Auckland's coastline, impacting people's health and well being and native fauna. This is not the Auckland we want to live in,' Bonham said. Chair of Urban Auckland, Julie Stout. Photo / Nick Reed Urban Auckland, a group of architects and other professionals dedicated to a better built and natural environment for the past 25 years, is also opposed to the application. In a submission prepared for the hearing, chair Julie Stout said helipads in residential areas were not considered when the Auckland Unitary Plan was drawn up, and it was a developing trend that needed to be taken seriously. She said Waiheke Island provided a lesson where 64 helipads have been granted in relatively low-density residential areas, causing a cumulative effect of prolonged noise, destroying the quiet for everyone else. 'We accept that some public services, like police and ambulance, need to use helicopters, but that is for the public good. Private use of helicopters is not in the public interest, and their acoustic and physical impact extends far beyond their immediate location. 'The Waitematā Harbour and its edges and beaches are important spaces for both birdlife and public amenity. Quiet enjoyment of these is intrinsic to the amenity for all. Sydney and Melbourne do not allow private landing pads in residential areas,' said Stout. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
13-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Helipad saves Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray 15-minute drive to heliport, says neighbour
Elena and Gideon Keith moved into the street 35 years ago for the tranquillity and natural beauty of the area, raising a family and using the foreshore as an extension of their backyard. 'There is no place for a helicopter here,' said Elena, secretary of Quiet Sky Waitematā, a group set up to oppose private helicopters in residential Auckland. 'The noise pollution would reduce the quality of life in our community. It doesn't benefit our neighbourhood in any way. It doesn't increase the amenity values and it doesn't provide any economic benefit…it's a gross inequity,' Elena said. Just two doors away from Williams and Mowbray's home, Julie Cato got a big shock after moving into the 'peaceful and quiet street' last November. She objects to the plan 'in its entirety', saying the noise from helicopters will be intrusive, disturbing and impacting on frequent stays from young grandchildren, working from home in sight of choppers, rotors throwing up dust and debris into the swimming pool and spa pool, and exercising, walking dogs and water sports on the foreshore. 'I'm dismayed to think that our neighbourhood will be subject to such a disturbance,' Cato said. On the second day of a four-day hearing before three planning commissioners, submitters for and against the plans by Williams, a former All Black, and Mowbray, one of New Zealand's richest businesswomen, gave evidence. The couple's plan has drawn 1400 submissions, of which more than 1300 were opposed. A breakdown of the submissions found three main ecological and environmental impacts: nuisance, disruption and effects on Westmere residents and visitors. One nearby neighbour, Matthew Lambert, said it had been a transparent process, the applicants had addressed community concerns and modified their plans, which complied with the Auckland Unitary Plan. 'I am satisfied if it is successful, this application will cover the couple's operational needs against the community's environmental and social needs,' he said. Another supporter, Andrew Haslett, said the proposal met all the required standards, and with four similar helipads already approved along the coastline, there was no precedent preventing this one from proceeding. 'Every concern has been addressed, every environmental safeguard has been put in place, and the applicants have gone above and beyond to mitigate every potential impact,' Haslett said. Craig Potten, chair of Forest and Bird Nelson branch, said estuaries like the one in the application were not a pretty story, with shore birds, except gannets, declining yearly. A few helicopter flights would not have a huge impact, but the cumulative impact of things like helicopters, predators, changes to habitat, and feeding led to a decline in bird numbers, he said. 'We have to speak for those that can't speak, which is the birds. Any disturbance that is an increase in the degree to which they are roosting or in their feeding situation will have a negative impact. 'I'm not a bird, nor can I hear through their ears, but it is visible that birds will fly in the air when disturbed by noise,' said Potten. A lawyer for the couple, Chris Simmons, yesterday said the application is for no more than two take-off and landing flights a day, up to 10 flights per month, occurring within a two-hour window on either side of low tide when birds are out feeding. St Marys Bay resident Helen Geary, who said her family was subjected to helicopter traffic up and down the harbour, said council planners had assessed the application as a non-complying activity that should be declined. 'Setting a precedent is the elephant in the room here,' she said. Last month, Auckland Council came out against the proposal. In a 356-page report, council planner Adonica Giborees said the helipad would adversely affect ecological values, trees, character and amenity, and recreational activities.
