Hi

We are a couple looking to buy a property in Greenhithe (Northern Greenhithe/Albany border close to Schnapper Rock Road).

By my calculation we would be 5km from the Whenuapai main runway and directly in the descending flight path of incoming planes.

So....my questions to residents.

1. How many large planes come in each day. I have heard 7-10 per day.
2. I believe they only land Mon-Fri.
3. Do you find it annoying? Has it gotten better the longer you have lived in Greenhithe?

Any general comments?

Thanks. Will be looking for replies.

It's not normally too many (7-10 is probably right) but sometimes they practise and come over and over and over... and can be quite loud depending on where you are (flight path being over Lucas Creek). But it is definitely preferable to commercial airport traffic.

you get used to it. and if you are planning on living here, it is something that you will need to consider and put up with.. Something else you may want to consider is that at some stage in the future, there maybe a commercial airport (hope so)

Thank you for the replies. Helpful.

Can you explain what the positives would be of a commercial airport??

Personally (I may be wrong) I can only think of negatives for residents anywhere near Greenhithe, Herald Islsand (noise, pollution, traffic). Our intention was to find a quiet place to buy a house not too far from the city.

I guess if you are a local service business or need a local job a commercial airport might be worth more dollars to you, but other than that...why would a Greenhithe or Herald Island resident want more large planes landing at Whenuapai? Can you explain briefly?

Are more residents for or against having a commercial airport. A golf course seems like a good idea to me

The noise issue seems to be our main one to overcome (whether we can handle it).

Lastly, Greenhithe proper is Herald Island and the streets fed by Kyle Road (South end). We are looking at streets fed from Kyle road on the Albany side. Is the noise any better the closer you get to Albany.

Sorry for all the questions. Its really helpful to have residents answer them.

Thanks
Paul

Paul, I suggest you have a look at the WAAG website - it has lots of information about the issue regarding the commercialization of WhenuapaiAir Base (www.waag.co.nz). We have friends that lived in Kittiwake Dr - in addition to the wind, they found the aircraft noise & house vibrations really annoying. Being at the top of the hill, they felt closer to the planes!! However, we live in Churchouse Road, Greenhithe and the planes don't seem too bad. Hopefully the Government will continue to say NO to the airport issue.