My Account
Auckland Council staff have been asked to look at the feasibility of prohibiting helicopter activity in residential areas.
The motion was in addition to resolutions for urgent implementation of the National Planning Standard 15, which would mean helicopter noise would no longer be averaged over three days, there would be clearer direction around reporting helicopter noise on the council website and requests for two reports from the Civil Aviation Authority.
Cr Mike Lee put forward a motion in support of the Aotea Great Barrier Local Board, which wants a moratorium on helipad consents.
“There are some activities that are so anti-social and have such an impact on people in communities that ‘prohibited activity’ is considered by Parliament the best way to deal with them,” Lee said.
“The raft of measures which have been recommended, a patchwork of measures, will not tidy this away.
It will not end public concerns, it will not give relief to neighbours whose quiet enjoyment of their property is going to be disturbed inevitably by a private helicopter.”
Quiet Sky Waiheke representative Kim Whitaker said it was frustrating that council staff were using the small number of complaints to justify little action.
Council reported 26 complaints of noise over the last three years, eight on Waiheke.
Waiheke Local Board chair Cath Handley said council was trying to minimise the environmental impact of helicopters in the report.
“Look at what it says in that report about climate change. It says ‘oh by the way it’s only seven per cent of transport emissions so hey, that’s chicken feed’,” Handley said.
“Each helicopter produces 950 pounds of CO2 per hour and burns over 40 times the fuel of a passenger car per hour. That qualifies them as one of the most polluting carbon intensive modes of transport.”
