Duke pulls out of helicopter challenge: council

Briscoes boss Rod Duke has abandoned legal action against Auckland Council over how many times he can land a helicopter at his Herne Bay mansion.

Auckland Council says Environment Court action being brought by the businessman will not now go ahead.

A council spokesman said: "Mr Duke's lawyer filed a memorandum with the Environment Court last Friday, withdrawing the appeal on the consent condition that limited helicopter flights to three flights per week. The Environment Court has confirmed this morning that the appeal has been withdrawn and its file will now be closed."

The matter was over the three landings and three take-offs from Rod and Patricia Duke's Sarsfield St property in Herne Bay. Duke was challenging that, saying others in the area were allowed more movements.

Building work at the home is still underway. But Duke was challenging restrictions on the number of flights he was allowed from a boatshed, which he has resource consent to demolish and re-build on the beach there.

Duke has been approached for comment.

Residents of Auckland's wealthiest suburb had concerns about Duke's proposed helicopter flights from his new residence and the effects on their precious beach.

Dirk Hudig of the Herne Bay Residents Association said his organisation had received a significant amount of correspondence from people worried about plans for helicopters to take off and land at a boatshed Duke and wife Patricia have consent to demolish on their Sarsfield St property.

The new boatshed would be built with a James Bond-style roof which would open, turning the structure into a helicopter landing pad, consent documents from the council show.

The boatshed is on the popular inner-city Sentinel Beach.

"Our view is that it's a consent application which ought to have been publicly notified because the boatshed is in a recreational area," Hudig said last week.

"We have visions of someone sitting on the beach and the helicopter blasting sand all over the place and a big backwash from the sea. Because this is public land, it ought to have been notified."