Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' plans for a helipad are before planning commissioners this week.
Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' plans for a helipad are before planning commissioners this week.
Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray plan to operate helicopters during a two-hour low tide window.
Their $24 million Westmere mansion redevelopment includes a helipad, drawing 1400 submissions, mostly opposed.
Auckland Council opposed the proposal, citing ecological and environmental impacts, and recommended refusing consent.
Ali Williams and his wife Anna Mowbray only plan to operate helicopters at their $24 million mansion during a two-hour low tide window when birds are out feeding, a hearing heard today.
Williams, a former All Black, and Mowbray, one of New Zealand’s richest businesswomen, have plans for a helipad as part of the redevelopment of their 4530sq m Westmere property, which sits on a headland jutting into the Waitematā Harbour.
A four-day hearing started at the Auckland Town Hall today into the application, which has drawn 1400 submissions, of which about 1300 were opposed.
A breakdown of the submissions found ecological and environmental impacts, nuisance and disruption, followed by the effects on Westmere residents and visitors, were the three biggest themes.
The hearing is being held before three commissioners, the chairman Kitt Littlejohn, David Hill, and Dr Hilke Giles.
The first day of the hearing was taken up with the applicant’s lawyer and expert witnesses supporting the helipad, and at least one resident in support.
A lawyer for the couple, Chris Simmons, 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.
No physical works are proposed because all flights would land on grass, he said.
Simmons said it was his view that the concerns of submitters are overstated or misunderstood the application, saying community groups have a role to play, but are not representative of the view of the entire community.
Ecologist Graham Don said high tide roosts in the area of the application contain threatened and at-risk species of coastal birds, including migratory birds.
He recommended that helicopter flights only occur two hours either side of low tide to avoid adverse effects on coastal birds roosting in the area, based on surveys indicating roosts are vacant during that time.
A second recommendation was that the flight path for helicopter movements should be in a north-northeast direction from the helipad to avoid flying over Meola Reef about 300m to 400m away.
“My understanding is that both recommendations have been adopted by the applicant and included in the proposed resource consent conditions,” Don said.
The hearing is being heard by commissioenrs(from left), Dr Hilke Giles, chairman Kitt Littlejohn and David Hill.
He said that provided helicopter flights occur two hours either side of low tide and the flight path avoids Meola Reed, the effects on roosting birds in the area would be avoided, and the effects on feeding and resting birds at low tide would be minor and transitory.
The ecologist said there would be some displacement of feeding and resting birds in outer Coxs Bay at times, but diminishing further out from the flight path of a helicopter.
Acoustic consultant Rhys Hegley said the helicopter planned to be used is an Airbus H130, which takes 60 seconds to descend 150m, idles for up to a minute while loading, and takes 20 seconds to reach 150m.
He considered the predicted helicopter noise level to be reasonable to neighbours, saying the noise will either comply with the noise rules, sound the same as a complaint level, or incur infrequently and for short periods.
Hegley concluded that the acoustic effects of helicopter flights on the environment “can be considered to be minor”.
Steve Owen, who has recently moved into the neighbourhood, said the investment Mowbray and Williams had put into their property and the wider community should be applauded.
Today's hearing heard about the impact of helicopters on coastal birds. Photo / Michael Cunningham
“Allowing them to have a helicopter near the peninsula with no more than 10 trips a month is inevitable. It is far less intrusive than my various neighbours’ mowing their lawns for extensive periods every weekend or the numerous jet skis that use the upper harbour without restriction.
“Anna and Ali have listened to the community and modified their application to make any take-offs and landings have minimal impact on neighbours, birds and the local environment with a very restrictive flight path and timetable,” Owen 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.
“I recommend… resource consent is refused to the application to use a residential site for the take-off and landing of helicopters,” she said.
