Former All Black Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray's plans for a helipad came in for criticism today.
Former All Black Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray's plans for a helipad came in for criticism today.
Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray’s helipad application in Westmere faces strong opposition from residents and groups.
Quiet Sky Waitematā argues the helipad would harm the environment and disturb the area’s tranquillity.
Supporters claim all environmental safeguards are in place, but opponents fear setting a precedent for more helipads.
Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray’s Westmere property jutting out into the Waitematā Harbour is a beautiful site that should be preserved and not used for operating helicopters, a planning panel heard today.
This was the view of multiple submitters who gave evidence on the third day of a four-day hearing into the controversial application by the couple for a helipad.
On Monday, their lawyer Chris Simmons said there would be no more than two take-off and landing flights a day, up to 10 flights per month within a two-hour window on either side of low tide when birds were out feeding.
The application has drawn 1400 submissions, of which more than 1300 were opposed.
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.
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