Whangārei District Council (WDC) has formally approved extending the lease – and a new building - for Northland’s emergency helicopter base in Kensington.
Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) responded to 1115 callouts last year – its busiest ever. There have been 300 flights to date this year. “What are the future plans to deal with the increasing level of disturbance,” Allan Kerrisk, former New Zealand Fire Service operations manager for Northland and area commander for the Far North Kensington resident living about 750 metres from the base, said. The move will mean an up to about $8 million new location rebuild – that Northlanders could be asked to pay towards – for what’s the only rescue helicopter base north of Auckland. It comes amidst a shortage of suitable sites and increasingly vocal public demanding the set up of any new facility goes through a publicly-notified resource consent process where they get to have their say.