Rescue choppers wear out welcome
NEST base must move before July 2023
orthland’s emergency rescue helicopter base in Whanga¯rei is being forced to move after growing noise complaints from neighbours.
“It’s unbearable. A helicopter operation of this nature in Kensington shouldn’t be operating in a residential area,” said Roger de Bray, former Top Energy chief executive who lives 100m from the helicopter base.
“The helicopters are like a freight train going through the house, sometimes several times a night.”
Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) responded to 1115 callouts last year, its busiest ever. As of last week, there had been 300 flights this year, prompting Kensington resident Allan Kerrisk, who lives about 750m from the base, to ask how the trust was planning to deal with increasing levels of disturbance.
Building a base at a new location would cost about $8 million, which Northlanders could be asked to contribute to, after a publicly notified resource consent process.
Whanga¯rei District Council chief executive Rob Forlong said in a March 23 letter to de Bray that the base was to move on or before its current lease expired on July 31, 2023, while NEST chief executive Craig Gibbons conceded the noise was disturbing neighbours.
“Enough is enough. We have outgrown our own base and outstayed our welcome from the locals,” he said.
He hoped to move by the end of the year.
Councillor Trish Cutforth agreed it was time the helicopter base moved.
“I think NEST needs to look for a more appropriate location. It’s starting to outlive its social licence for the site,” she said. “People have given it a social licence, but a tipping point’s now been reached.”
The trust operates three helicopters from its 33-year-old Western Hills/State Highway 1 base on leased St John and WDC land.
St John runs its ambulance service from the same site.
Gibbons said NEST had acted responsibly in terms of noise management, adopting noise abatement procedures and the international Fly Neighbourly programme.
It also complied with CAA requirements, but there was always opportunity for improvement. Flight numbers had increased significantly, in the past three years in particular, and the five-tonne Sikorskys were quite a loud helicopter.
Forlong said NEST had acknowledged the noise complaints and would be taking actions to minimise the noise where possible. It would be providing the council with a document setting out its noise mitigation procedures in the next few days.
Meanwhile, the de Brays have just spent $4000 on new ceiling noise insulation in their bedroom and are looking at soundproof window glass.
Ruth de Bray said the irregularity of the helicopters’ 24/7 arrival and departure made it impossible to get used to the noise.