Latest news with #helipads
RNZ News
7 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Auckland Council votes in favour of amendment to helipad ban Notice of Motion
Auckland richlisters Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' newly built house on Rawene Avenue. Photo: RNZ/Maia Ingoe Auckland Council have voted in favour of an amendment to councillor Mike Lee's Notice of Motion to ban the private use of helipads in residential areas. The amendment requests staff seek a determination through the Environment Court through the Resource Consent Appeal Process or a declaration from the Environment Court on the activity status of private helipads. The amendment was put forward by councillor Richard Hills and labelled as a "stitch up" and "ambush" by councillor Lee. This in relation to the Auckland Unitary Plan. Councillors are yet to decide on the Hauraki Gulf Islands Section of the Auckland Council District Plan. The meeting has been ongoing since 10am on Wednesday. It comes after Waiheke locals said Auckland Council was ignoring the wants of the communities by allowing a proliferation of private helipads. Last month, independent hearing commissioners appointed by the council approved rich-listers Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams's request for a private helipad at their Westmere property, despite overwhelming public opposition . At the council's Policy and Planning Committee on Thursday morning, Kim Whitaker from Quiet Sky Waiheke was one of several speakers calling on the council to decline private helicopter resource consents in residential areas. He said the constant flow of helicopters was incredibly frustrating and disruptive for residents. "You can demonstrate that this committee is made up of people who believe in democratic principles and are not going to enable a small minority of people to literally fly roughshod over a majority." He said there were nearly 70 private helipads on Waiheke. RNZ contacted Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray's lawyer for comment ahead of the motion of notice and the appeal in the Environment Court. While there was no response, the couple have said in the media that they were deeply disappointed with the legal challenge and the cost to public resources it will use. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
23-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Auckland councillor tries again to ban helicopters in residential areas
Auckland richlisters Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' newly built house on Rawene Avenue. Photo: RNZ/Maia Ingoe Residential helipads will once again be the topic of conversation at Auckland Council. Waitematā and Gulf Ward councillor Mike Lee has confirmed he'll be putting forward a Notice of Motion to ban helicopters in residential areas at Wednesday's Policy and Planning Committee. It follows news this week that Auckland billionaire couple Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' approval to build a helipad at their Westmere home, will be challenged at the Environment Court. This is the second time Lee has tried to prohibit helipads in residential areas, his motion last year losing by two votes. "Well, it'll be a close-run thing, and so who knows what the outcome really will be." "In some ways, the odds are rather stacked against getting any change, because not only will we have to persuade the elected members, the members of the governing body, the councillors, to agree with us. "Unfortunately, we'll be having to deal with the senior planning staff who are opposed to any change to the system, particularly adverse to the idea of making helipads in residential areas a prohibited activity. "So we're going to have our work cut out for us, but we have the community, the overwhelming majority of the community, supporting this," Lee said. But he said "staff advice" would be the biggest obstacle in getting his motion across the line. "The biggest challenge will be the council officers, the council planners, who seem to have a philosophic opposition to prohibited activity. "Prohibited activity for certain activities are in the Auckland Unitary Plan. Helipads, for instance, in Sydney are a prohibited activity in all residential zones and business zones. Prohibited activity is in the Resource Management Act, it's been there since 1991. "Despite all the reforms, upteam reforms of RMA, that virtually every government since 1991 has undertaken, prohibited activity, Section 87D, remains in the Act for very good reason." He said all three local boards in his ward (Waitematā, Waiheke Island and the Aotea, Great Barrier Island local board areas) backed the move. Lee will also have the support of Whau councillor Kerrin Leoni who said she believed public sentiment from Aucklanders was predominately in their corner. For example, according to Auckland Council, of 1397 written submissions made on the helipad application by Auckland richlisters Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams, most - 1227, or 87 percent - opposed the helipad on Rawene Avenue in Westmere. One-hundred-and-eight were supportive, and 12 were neutral. "I think we need to make a strong stance on that and I'm definitely supporting Mike Lee's notice of motion," Leoni said. "Rich people that are coming into our city and treating it like it's a playground. I mean, it's just unacceptable. "We just can't let our city be seen as a playground for the rich listers to come in and do as they please, there should be some rules around that. "Apparently there are public helipads within 15 minutes or I think half an hour at least from everyone's address across the city. So why can't we use those instead of everyone having to have private ones? "I know there's definitely a lot of support and I'm sure there'll be a lot of people there to support the notice of motion and in the galleries as well." Among them will be members from Quiet Sky Waitematā who this week filed an appeal to the Environment Court in an attempt to block Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams from flying a private helicopter from their multi-million-dollar Westmere property. That's despite independent hearing commissioners appointed by Auckland Council approving the couple's controversial resource consent application for a private helipad in June. "We will have representatives from Quiet Sky who will be presenting a petition of over 4100 signatures to the councillors, letting them know about how Auckland feels about banning private use helicopters in residential areas," said spokesperson Elena Keith. "Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, none of them allow private helicopters in the city. "This is a very backward move. It's not the city that we want. I don't think it's a city that Auckland ratepayers want," Keith said. RNZ contacted Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray's lawyer for comment ahead of the motion of notice and the appeal in the Environment Court. While there was no response, the couple have said in the media that they were deeply disappointed with the legal challenge and the cost to public resources it will use. Lee said part of the reason behind his motion was to provide more certainty for people like them. "Under the law, the way it is now, they have every right to apply for a helipad and obviously they've spent a lot of money through this process. "Clearly they're extremely disappointed that the local residents are going to appeal. They're disappointed, but they shouldn't be surprised."
RNZ News
23-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Auckland councillor trys again to ban helicopters in residential areas
Auckland richlisters Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' newly built house on Rawene Avenue. Photo: RNZ/Maia Ingoe Residential helipads will once again be the topic of conversation at Auckland Council. Waitematā and Gulf Ward councillor Mike Lee has confirmed he'll be putting forward a Notice of Motion to ban helicopters in residential areas at Wednesday's Policy and Planning Committee. It follows news this week that Auckland billionaire couple Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' approval to build a helipad at their Westmere home, will be challenged at the Environment Court. This is the second time Lee has tried to prohibit helipads in residential areas, his motion last year losing by two votes. "Well, it'll be a close-run thing, and so who knows what the outcome really will be." "In some ways, the odds are rather stacked against getting any change, because not only will we have to persuade the elected members, the members of the governing body, the councillors, to agree with us. "Unfortunately, we'll be having to deal with the senior planning staff who are opposed to any change to the system, particularly adverse to the idea of making helipads in residential areas a prohibited activity. "So we're going to have our work cut out for us, but we have the community, the overwhelming majority of the community, supporting this," Lee said. But he said "staff advice" would be the biggest obstacle in getting his motion across the line. "The biggest challenge will be the council officers, the council planners, who seem to have a philosophic opposition to prohibited activity. "Prohibited activity for certain activities are in the Auckland Unitary Plan. Helipads, for instance, in Sydney are a prohibited activity in all residential zones and business zones. Prohibited activity is in the Resource Management Act, it's been there since 1991. "Despite all the reforms, upteam reforms of RMA, that virtually every government since 1991 has undertaken, prohibited activity, Section 87D, remains in the Act for very good reason." He said all three local boards in his ward (Waitematā, Waiheke Island and the Aotea, Great Barrier Island local board areas) backed the move. Lee will also have the support of Whau councillor Kerrin Leoni who said she believed public sentiment from Aucklanders was predominately in their corner. For example, according to Auckland Council, of 1397 written submissions made on the helipad application by Auckland richlisters Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams, most - 1227, or 87 percent - opposed the helipad on Rawene Avenue in Westmere. One-hundred-and-eight were supportive, and 12 were neutral. "I think we need to make a strong stance on that and I'm definitely supporting Mike Lee's notice of motion," Leoni said. "Rich people that are coming into our city and treating it like it's a playground. I mean, it's just unacceptable. "We just can't let our city be seen as a playground for the rich listers to come in and do as they please, there should be some rules around that. "Apparently there are public helipads within 15 minutes or I think half an hour at least from everyone's address across the city. So why can't we use those instead of everyone having to have private ones? "I know there's definitely a lot of support and I'm sure there'll be a lot of people there to support the notice of motion and in the galleries as well." Among them will be members from Quiet Sky Waitematā who this week filed an appeal to the Environment Court in an attempt to block Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams from flying a private helicopter from their multi-million-dollar Westmere property. That's despite independent hearing commissioners appointed by Auckland Council approving the couple's controversial resource consent application for a private helipad in June. "We will have representatives from Quiet Sky who will be presenting a petition of over 4100 signatures to the councillors, letting them know about how Auckland feels about banning private use helicopters in residential areas," said spokesperson Elena Keith. "Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, none of them allow private helicopters in the city. "This is a very backward move. It's not the city that we want. I don't think it's a city that Auckland ratepayers want," Keith said. RNZ contacted Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray's lawyer for comment ahead of the motion of notice and the appeal in the Environment Court. While there was no response, the couple have said in the media that they were deeply disappointed with the legal challenge and the cost to public resources it will use. Lee said part of the reason behind his motion was to provide more certainty for people like them. "Under the law, the way it is now, they have every right to apply for a helipad and obviously they've spent a lot of money through this process. "Clearly they're extremely disappointed that the local residents are going to appeal. They're disappointed, but they shouldn't be surprised."
RNZ News
06-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Auckland councillor Mike Lee plans further bid to block private helipads
Mike Lee wants to change city ordinances before the upcoming local body elections. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Auckland councillor Mike Lee is leading a new push to ban private helipads in residential areas of the city. The Waitematā and Gulf councillor intends raising two notices of motion at the policy and planning committee meeting on 24 July. "One is for the Hauraki Gulf Islands District Plan, which covers Waiheke and Great Barrier Island, essentially, where helipads have been a major problem with local people. "The other one covers the western bays of Auckland and so that's the Auckland Unitary Plan." "One notice of motion applies to the Auckland situation - the mainland situation - and the other applies to the Gulf Islands," he said. The announcement comes days after billionaire entrepreneur Anna Mowbray and former-All Black husband Ali Williams were given permission to build a helipad at their $24 million waterfront home in Westmere. The commissioners' decision released on Monday 30 June stated flights would be limited to no more than two per day and 10 per month. According to Auckland Council, of 1397 written submissions made on the application, most - 1227, or 87 percent - opposed the helipad on Rawene Avenue, 108 were supportive, and 12 were neutral. "This latest decision, according to the commissioner, Kit Littlejohn, says helipads are enabled in residential areas as a permitted activity and has gone so far, quite extraordinarily, to assert that helicopters are equivalent to cars and they're intrinsic to residential living, which is a pretty extreme argument," Lee said. "I don't think most people would agree with that, but nonetheless, the unitary plan is not as clear on this matter as everyone had assumed until now and, therefore, the need for clarity is quite urgent really. "Why should people be disturbed in their own homes and properties by people who are making an awful racket, and flying aircraft into the neighbourhood." He believed many Aucklanders agreed with him and that helipads in residential areas created a large volume of complaints. "It's not designed to be a ban on helicopters or helipads," Lee said. "It's private residential use that we're concerned about, because that's what causes all the complaints. "When you think about it, landing an aircraft in a built-up area as a routine means of transport is just crazy and it's unacceptable. "We have to tidy it up and give people certainty, that's even the Mowbrays - Ali Williams and Miss Mowbray - who spent three years and I guess a hell of a lot of money on this application. "People like that need some certainty as well, because the way things are now, it's quite a mess and needs to be tidied up." The Auckland councillor has previously attempted to ban private helipads in residential areas, but his motion in March last year lost 10-8. "I have tried in the past, of course, and narrowly failed to get the majority of councillors and the mayor to vote for making helipads in residential areas a prohibited activity," Lee said. "There's an election coming up and we don't have that much time in the current term of this council to do something about it, and I was determined to do something in this term of the council." The Auckland councillor said he'd like the city to follow some Australian cities that have prohibited private helipads in residential areas, unless they have a Fly Neighbourly Agreement with local residents. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
