Whangārei District Council (WDC) has formally approved extending the lease – and a new building - for Northland’s emergency helicopter base in Kensington.

Last week’s approval comes just a month ahead of the emergency rescue helicopter base’s current 10-year lease expiring on July 31.

Councillors voted to extend Northland Emergency Services Trust’s (Nest) lease for a further year, with two further one-year rights of renewal, for up to three years in total.

WDC manager of district development Tony Collins said risks posed by the decision included the chance of legal challenges. This would be if “the parties” were not satisfied the council had followed due process in its decision-making processes.

 “This is most likely to take the form of a judicial review to the High Court. It could also involve complaints to the Ombudsman,” Collins said.

Whangarei District Council manager of district development Tony Collins at a public drop-in meeting to discuss the Nest rescue helicopter base staying on in Kensington.

Northern Rescue chief executive Craig Gibbons said the trust appreciated the council’s lease extension and ongoing community support.

“Ultimately, to serve the people of Northland we need to have a base somewhere in Whangārei. At the moment we are in Kensington, but working hard towards moving to Onerahi [Whangārei Airport].”

The council decision also included allowing Nest’s request to put a new portacom at the rescue helicopter base. The building will be office space for pilots and medics to use while on duty. It will be located next to the trust’s 12-metre container.

The politicians’ decision was in contrast to the original council agenda item on which they were to vote. This was initially written so that councillors would be voting on whether or not to decline the portacom request. Its wording was changed so councillors were instead voting for or against approving the request.

Staff recommended the portacom application not proceed.

Collins said Nest would explore providing a location for the provision of the planned portacom services “within the existing footprint of buildings and structures on-site” if the request was not granted.

Gibbons said the building was needed for the trust’s operation.

“Right now, a portacom is an asset we, as a community-owned life-saving air ambulance service, need to serve the people of Northland and those who come to Northland. If we do add a portacom to our operation, it will be placed outside and next to the existing shipping container, so like most outdoor portacoms, it will be visible to people in the vicinity,” Gibbons said.

WDC general manager of planning and development Dominic Kula said the new portacom would need to go through resource consenting for the building, with a WDC consent for the leased land on which the building will sit. An air resource consent would also be needed.

Kula said it was likely any resource consenting would be run by the council’s independent regulatory arm.

Councillor Simon McKenzie asked how likely it was that the resource consenting would be publicly notified.

Kula said he could not comment on that.

Meanwhile, Collins said Kensington residents wanted a more structured option for working through concerns about Nest’s operating practices.

Kensington resident Allan Kerrisk in May called on WDC to set up a formal council rescue helicopter committee for the suburb, with formal agendas, meetings in the council chambers and recorded minutes.

“[The] council setting the committee up would show it is working with affected residents to look at mitigation and ensuring the helicopter base’s move from Kensington is not stalling. There would be less community doubt about how things are progressing if the council and Nest engaged in this way,” Kerrisk said.

Kensington resident Allan Kerrisk. Photo / Susan Botting

He said the group could hold quarterly helicopter community meetings with Kensington and Regent residents.

Collins instead recommended “an informal operation mechanism” be set up. This would be made up of people from Nest, WDC and the local community.

It was not intended the group would be overly formal or prescriptive. It could have regular quarterly drop-in sessions or be an informal group of interested parties meeting on a regular basis.

This would allow any issues arising from the Kensington community to be worked through.

Nest has leased 1576 square metres of Kensington Park from the council since 1991. The trust also subleases a helicopter hangar from Hato Hone St John, with similar terms and expiry date.

■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.