Aucklanders to have their say on wealthy couple's helicopter flight application
Saturday, 16 July 2022
Aucklanders will get to have their say on a wealthy Herne Bay couple's application to increase the number of permitted helicopter flights from their backyard next week.
In a surprise turn, the resource consent application will be publicly notified and open for submission, at the request of the applicants Simon and Paula Herbert.
The Herberts’ consultant planner had initially argued extensively to the council that the consent did not need to be notified, either publicly or among the immediate neighbours.
Simon Herbert did not respond to requests for comment on why he and his wife had changed their mind.
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According to the application, the Herberts found the current permitted one flight a day “restrictive” because it did not allow for same-day returns.
The new consent would allow the couple two return flights from the property a day, with a cap of four return flights in a week.
The Herne Bay Residents Association, which has been battling various helicopter consents for years, is calling the public notification a 'small but significant' victory.
Co-chairperson Dirk Hudig said that it was time the public got its say on whether the Herberts ought to be able to “pop over to Waiheke for a beer”.
He said at a public meeting organised by the local association, residents had nearly unanimously opposed more helicopter flights in the suburb.
“If it's taking off 300 metres away, it's so loud you can’t talk over it. It's not good if you’re hosting a barbecue.”
Hudig believes that the notified consent will draw interest and submissions from all over Auckland, because it was a rare chance to submit on a helicopter flight consent.
Aotea Great Barrier Island residents have been perturbed a flurry of applications by residential helicopter users. Four applications have been granted in the last few months and two are being processed. None have been notified.
Barrier Local Board chair Izzy Fordham said the board had the opportunity to comment on applications but because the district plan did not require them to be notified there, they generally went ahead despite community opposition.
“I don’t think it's fair for recreational helicopter users to have that impact on residents. The feedback from the community is that they don’t want this to become a place where helicopters are buzzing around.”
She said she would make residents aware of the submission and would be keeping a close eye on how it turned out.
Auckland Council could not definitively say whether the Herberts’ application was the first publicly notified helicopter consent since the Unitary Plan came into effect.
A spokesperson said it was certainly the first in recent times, and that often when it was decided a consent would be publicly notified, it would be withdrawn by the applicants.
Meanwhile, Councillor Chris Darby has called the precedent of notification 'a new benchmark' as he moves to prohibit helipads in residential Auckland via a plan change.
Councillors voted unanimously to prepare a report on the impact of helicopter flights in the city. However, Darby said that the report “wouldn't land” until after the election in October.
He said a “practice and guidance note” would be distributed to staff next week that would guide staff on how to more correctly interpret the current rules.
What this might change in terms of whether consents will be notified remains to be seen.
The Herbert’s resource consent application will be open for submission on the Auckland Council website from July 19.