HERNE BAY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION STATEMENT ON MASEFIELD BEACH HELIPAD CURRENT SITUATION The applicant has obtained a Resource Consent which permits the rebuild/repair of an existing boatshed situated on Sentinel Beach – a public beach. The Consent also permits construction of a helicopter pad on the boatshed and includes an allowance of three helicopter movements (take-offs and landings) per week. This Consent is being appealed to the Environment Court because the applicant states others have rights for six flights weekly. Herne Bay Residents Association Inc (HBRAI) believes this ignores the fact that other users are landing on their own land and not on public land /beach used for recreation all year round by residents and visitors. Given these circumstances should the Environment Court grant the application it will create a ‘precedent’. HBRAI says the original application for consent should have been notified to affected adjoining residents and more broadly beach users. In effect, non-notification means residents and other beach users have no ‘standing’ in the appeal before the Environment Court – there is no jurisdiction to be heard. HBRAI believes this is unacceptable. NON-NOTIFICATION IS THE KEY ISSUE Because Auckland Council planners chose to make the original Resource Consent non-notified residents and beach users and Auckland families who enjoy the beach could not have a say and their views could not be taken into account. Sentinel Beach is one of the favourite beaches in the central Auckland area. The users of the beach should have had an opportunity to be heard. It is also one of the few recreational areas in the inner city Herne Bay/Ponsonby area – an area that through intensification has few reserves relative to newer suburbs and relies on the Waitemata Harbour beaches and “blue” recreational space to offset this shortfall. HBRAI says “What would the residents of say Takapuna Beach think of this occurring on that beach and would Council choose to make any such application non-notified? We think not. WHY SHOULD THE ORIGINAL CONSENT HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED Council planners have limited their acoustic assessment to the nearest residence which is about 40 meters away. This completely ignored beach users, often sitting next to the boatshed. There is another helicopter pad on a point at Sentinel Beach. Anecdotal evidence suggests beach users have lost clothing and towels into the sea from the air disturbances caused by helicopter landings/take-offs. This helipad is on private land and not directly on the beach as is proposed at 75 Sarsfield Street. Helicopter movements in the boatshed will therefore have a negative impact on beach users and their past quiet enjoyment of this beach. HBRAI also questons the Auckland Council Report which suggest that access to the boatshed is difficult. That is not the case as we have evidenced. Furthermore Council planning reports have focussed on noise impacts on neighbouring residences only (some 40 metres away). No account was taken of noise on the public land directly adjoining the helipad (only about three meters away). Nor was there any apparent attempt to assess the level of wind produced and other effects caused by helicopter take-off/landings on users of this public recreational area. The planning report also fails to address the importance of the recreational value of the beach. Nor does it acknowledge that the beach is public land. HBRAI DEMANDS HBRAI believes strongly that any proposed increase in activity/use of public land must be publicly notified. HBRAI expects the Council to hold its position limiting the Consent to three take-offs/landings per week. HBRAI is extremely disappointed that due to non-notification of the original application it has been left with few options to address this matter. In anticipation that Council will stand firm on maintaining its original decision and the helicopter movement limitation imposed HBRAI is satisfied there are no grounds for a challenge to that decision. However if the Council agrees to any relaxation of the movement limitation this would in our opinion undermine the credibility of the original decision to proceed on a non-notified basis. HBRAI will draw attention to the issue and the public concerns expressed to it to:  Mayor Phil Goff  Waitemata Councillor Mike Lee  Waitemata Board  Civil Aviation Authority  Auckland Council Planners DIRK HUDIG - Co-chair HBRAI DON MATHIESON – Co-chair HBRAI