ARC stands back from row over airstrip

The Auckland Regional Council will not overrule a Ports of Auckland decision to turn an airstrip into a car yard, but users of the airstrip say the battle is not over.

Recreational aviators have been up in arms over plans to turn the airstrip at Pikes Pt, Onehunga, into an "inland port" for cleaning and processing second-hand imported cars.

Three aviation clubs with hundreds of members at present use the land - leased from Ports of Auckland - as an airpark, but the ports company has given notice that the tenancy agreement will expire in December.

Supported by a petition of 6000 signatures, Councillor Robyn Hughes last night presented the ARC with a motion to revoke the eviction notice. But councillors voted to substitute the motion for a diluted version - that the council's investment arm, Auckland Regional Holdings, which owns Ports of Auckland, discuss with the ports company deferring the notice while council officers help the clubs look for alternative areas for an airstrip. "It's better than nothing, the battle is not lost," said Maungakiekie Community Board chairwoman Bridget Graham, one of about 200 people - some spilling out the doors - who packed the council chambers.

Helilink pilot Dave Walley, who flies police and rescue helicopters, said Pikes Pt was an irreplaceable emergency landing site. "It's a sad loss for Auckland."

Speaking after the meeting, Robyn Hughes was more optimistic: "It was a small victory for the people who use Pikes Pt as an airstrip. It buys more time to convince the powers-that-be to support the clubs."

She said designated flight paths and resource consent difficulties made other options hard to come by. "They've got nowhere else to go."

Ports of Auckland spokeswoman Bronwen Jones said the company's profits funded ARC transport and stormwater infrastructure, which "benefited the wider interests of the regional area, rather than a small group of people".

She said Pikes Pt was the best place for the caryard "from a business standpoint".