The 38 Rawene Ave, Westmere helicopter is likely to be the last publicly notified application for a helipad in Auckland.

Three independent commissioners sided with the applicants with their interpretation of the Auckland Unitary Plan and have cleared the way for your neighbour to land a helicopter in your community. This means you no longer get to have a say. 

So it's really important you contact your Mayor and councillor today. Click here to email them all at once to let them know how you feel about this.

Or copy and paste the below emails into your email.

mayor.wayne.brown@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; mike.lee@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; desley.simpson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; chris.darby@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; richard.hills@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; christine.fletcher@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; Julie.Fairey@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; shane.henderson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; john.watson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; wayne.walker@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; andrew.baker@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; sharon.stewart@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; Maurice.williamson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; lotu.fuli@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; alf.filipaina@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; angela.dalton@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; daniel.newman@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; josephine.bartley@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; greg.sayers@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; ken.turner@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz; kerrin.leoni@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Quiet Sky Waitematā needs your support to challenge this decision:

- Donate to 06-0145-0789030-00. Email hello@quietsky.nz for receipt - all donations are eligible for 33% tax rebate

- Donate to our GiveALittlePage

- Sign our petition

- Join our Facebook page

If you have any questions or would like more information please get in touch hello@quietsky.nz

Head to Quiet Sky Waitematā’s Facebook page to check out Steve Meadows’ recent photos of Coxs Bay birds that are under threat from the Rawene Ave, Westmere helicopter. They’re stunning images that reinforce why it’s important that we protect our natural environment from private use helicopters that are unnecessary and intrusive. 

Public Meeting
10th July 2025

Quiet Sky Waitematā is holding a public meeting at 7.00pm on Thursday 10th of July at the Hawke Sea Scout Hall, 55 West End Road, Coxs Bay.

Mike Lee, the Councillor for Auckland, will talk about his upcoming Notice of Motion (NOM) to ban private use helicopters in residential areas at the next Auckland Council Planning Committee meeting on the 21st of July.

This NOM vote is important for anyone who lives in a coastal suburb - Pt Chevalier, Westmere, Coxs Bay, Herne Bay, St Marys Bay, Parnell, Birkenhead, Northcote, Takapuna, Howick, Te Atatū Peninsula, Hobsonville Point, Orewa etc.

The reason it is important that Auckland City Councillors vote for this ban is because three independent commissioners recently decided that “The use of a helicopter … in the AUP residential zones is a permitted activity …is inherently associated with residential land use”. This means anyone can land a helicopter in your neighbourhood, without a resource consent, as long as they claim they meet the noise standards. It will be up you to prove the helicopter doesn’t meet noise standards.  And up to the council’s compliance team to do anything about it. 

Good luck with that.

This is an extraordinarily permissive decision.  Auckland (and any other city in NZ) would become the only modern city in the world permitting helicopters as of right in a residential area.  Other cities like Sydney, New York and Los Angeles have long since banned private use helicopters.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting to discuss how we convince Council that this must change.

Donations can be made to:

QUIET SKY WAITEMATA INC

06-0145-0789030-00

Email hello@quietsky.nz for receipt (all donations are eligible for 33% tax rebate)

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/quiet-sky-waitemata (for credit card donations)

Coxs Bay Helipad Update July 2025 

We had a hearing because the independent commissioner who publicly notified the application determined that private use helicopters in a residential area are a non-complying activity.

This meant the independent commissioners had to consider the impacts that this helicopter would have on indigenous and endangered birds, the natural character and amenities of the neighbourhood, public safety and the noise impacts.

During the 5 day hearing in May 2025 the applicant’s lawyer argued that having a helicopter coming and going from a house in a residential neighbourhood is the same as driving a car or riding a bike and therefore it should be considered a restricted discretionary activity – not a non-complying one.

The independent commissioners took his interpretation of the Auckland Unitary Plan, agreed with it and with that decision they then completely disregarded the impacts on the hundreds of birds that forage just below the helipad including dotterels, godwits, oystercatchers and caspian terns.

What’s particularly concerning, is that essentially the independent commissioners have said if you can meet the noise requirements you can have one in your backyard. While totally disregarding the wider impacts and whether or not a community actually wants to have a say. It’s a gross inequity and sets a worrying precedent for the rest of Auckland.

This helicopter will exceed the allowable noise limits so doesn’t even comply and, on that basis, alone should have been declined. What’s the point of having standards if they’re going to be completely ignored?

Furthermore the Auckland Council recommended that this application be declined. The Council planner, their arborist and their ecologist all said that it should be declined due to the impact it would have on the surrounding environment and on the birds in the area.

1,302 people submitted against this application and they will be asking what role does democracy play in decision making when it comes to matters that will affect them.

Auckland Council now have a very clear understanding of the public opposition to private use helicopters in residential areas and should take that into consideration when reviewing the Auckland Unitary Plan in 2026.

Mayor Wayne Brown and councillors narrowly voted down Mike Lee’s notice of motion in March 2024 to make helicopters in residential areas a prohibited activity, by 10 votes to 8. If they’d voted then they could have prevented further applications but now ,with this precedent, the path has been cleared for other applications to follow. And they will.

With regards to an appeal we’re still digesting the decision and will make a decision in due course.

Coxs Bay Helipad Update April 2025 

The Auckland Council planner who is processing Resource Consent: LUC60389929 has recommended that this application be declined due to the detrimental impacts on birdlife, trees and the neighbourhood.

In her recommendation on page 71 of her report the planner states:

"For completeness, I do not consider the proposal is aligned with the direction of relevant statutory documents, those being the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity, New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement, Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act, and the Regional Policy Statement. Overall, I conclude that the proposal is should not be granted resource consent for the reasons set out within this report."

Her conclusion on page 72 outlines all of the reasons why this application should be declined.

We’re hoping that the Applicants take all of this on board and withdraw their consent application. If not the 5 day hearing will still take place on the 12th of May where a panel of three independent commissioners will hear from the Applicants and the public.

The report can be viewed here:

March 2025 

Quiet Sky Waitematā is absolutely delighted to see such strong opposition to the Westmere helicopter application that will have far reaching impacts on the quiet Westmere community and the sheltered Coxs Bay that is home for many endangered birds.

• 1,397 public submissions received

• 1,302 were opposed

• 89 supported it

• 5 were neutral

Auckland Council have advised that a hearing date has been set for:

Date(s): Monday 12, Tuesday 13, Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 & Friday 16 May 2025

Time: 9.30am

Location: Council Chamber, Ground Floor, Auckland Town Hall, 301 Queen Street, Auckland

The 4 volumes of submissions can be found here