A new consent application for a helipad on Nick Johnstone Drive was lodged on 15 September. If the consent is approved, it will bring the total number of consented helipads on Waiheke to 74. There were 68 in April when Resource Management Act Minister Chris Bishop vetoed a ban on helipads in residential areas of the Hauraki Gulf – an average of almost one new helipad consent a month since.
Island residents have been concerned about the rapid proliferation of helipads on the island since 2019, with the local board, Waitematā and Gulf Ward councillor Mike Lee and community groups like Quiet Sky Waiheke lobbying hard for tighter restrictions on helipad consenting rules. At the time the island had 20. By 2023 the number of consented helipads had more than tripled, hitting 63 that April.
Full story in this week’s Gulf News & Waiheke Weekender……. Out now
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