Hawera is the centre of the country's population and, therefore, an ideal location for a passenger and freight airport, an entrepreneur believes.
New Hawera resident Bill Parkin outlined his proposal for an all-weather airport facility in the town to South Taranaki District Council yesterday.
He believes Hawera should capitalise on being very
near to New Zealand's centre of population by building a national hub airport, which would provide route efficiencies for both passenger and overnight freight transport.
Mr Parkin, a trained accountant who has been a qualified commercial pilot for the past 30 years, envisages 39 take-offs and landings a day in 19-seater Beech aircraft. He estimated a basic airport would cost less than $2.5 million. It was "absurd" there wasn't one sealed runway in the whole of South Taranaki.
Mr Parkin said previous investigations into the establishment of an airport facility at Hawera had been deficient as they only focused on local demand. They failed to take into account the national market for a centrally located passenger and air freight facility.
He envisaged 475 people through the airport a day, mostly either directly changing flights or having to spend some time in the town waiting for a connecting flight.
These people would add $3 million to the local economy. He asked council to consider his proposal in more depth and for $40-50,000 for a site investigation. Some of this money would be used to purchase systems to record wind data. Mr Parkin was supported by five businesspeople, including former district councillor Wendy Button and Hawera accountant Brian Prestidge.
TRC Tractors CEO Bruce Brownlie, who is also president of Feilding Aerodrome, outlined the growth the aerodrome had experience since it sealed its runway.
He said aircraft had got bigger, cleverer and heavier and he was surprised Hawera didn't have more than a grass runway.
"Really, we've got to get with it and provide that extra safety margin that seal provides," he said.
Council decided to appoint councillors Kirsty Bourke, Andy Beccard and Warwick Fry, plus Mayor Mary Bourke, to a working party to analyse Mr Parkin's proposal, investigate whether to proceed and, if so, how.
