Nelson Airport has lodged an application with the Nelson City Council seeking planning approvals for its future runway extension – known as Project 2-Zero.
The airport’s application aims to protect and provide for its ability to extend the runway by ensuring appropriate land designations and zoning are in place.
Nelson Airport has long signalled to the community its intention to extend its runway and sought community feedback on the plans in April 2022. Nelson Airport anticipates that a longer runway will be needed within the next 10 – 15 years. This is to ensure the airport is set up to host future low-emission and zero-emission aircraft, to remove the existing weight restrictions for aircraft already at Nelson, and to improve safety by providing additional buffer areas for aircraft known as Runway End Safety Areas (RESA).
The project’s name is a nod both to the runway’s technical name (the number 2-0, based on the compass orientation of the runway) and to the project’s focus on ensuring Nelson Airport can contribute to a zero-carbon future for aviation.
On Wednesday 8 March, the airport submitted its application for a Notice of Requirement to alter its existing planning designations (Aerodrome (Nelson Airport), Airnoise boundary controls, and Airport height restrictions). It also submitted a Private Plan Change to amend the airport land’s zoning from its current mix of predominantly Industrial and Open Space and Recreation zoning to a specific Airport Zone, and to amend the rules relating to the development and intensification of sensitive activities around the airport.
Nelson Airport chief executive Mark Thompson explains the application aims to ensure the land and planning provisions for the airport protect its future, including the need to support a sustainable aviation model by providing for the runway extension.
“We don’t intend to go out and extend the runway tomorrow, but we do need to make sure we protect and provide for our ability to construct it when it’s needed. A designation is the planning tool that protects an area for its designated purpose and ensures we are signalling that to the community. This will provide the airport and the community with certainty, to enable us to design and deliver a more sustainable and resilient airport operation.”
Mark says the airport’s zoning also needs to be addressed, as the current zoning doesn’t appropriately recognise existing land use, requirements for contemporary airports, or best practice as set out in national planning standards. Managing the development of sensitive uses around the airport is also an important part of protecting the airport's operations and ensuring the well-being of the surrounding community, including through an improved noise mitigation programme.
The airport has requested its application be publicly notified, meaning a formal public consultation process would take place and a public hearing held before any decisions are made.
“We know both our nearest neighbours and the wider Nelson-Tasman community have a strong interest in this, and we want to be proactive about providing good information about our plans to the community. There is a comprehensive summary of our application on our website, as well as links to the full application paperwork for anyone who really wants to dive into the detail.”
As the airport signalled last year, a best-practice noise mitigation package is included in the plans. This would see the airport fund measures such as mechanical ventilation and acoustic insulation for lawfully existing affected properties depending on their location within its updated “noise contours”.
“Noise contours give an indication of the level of noise nearby properties can expect to experience in the future as a result of aircraft operations, and also put controls on how much noise the airport is permitted to generate,” Mark says. “We need to update our noise contours because they were introduced many years ago and no longer accurately reflect the current aircraft operating at the airport, future forecast activity levels, or the effect of an extended runway.”
The application does not include any changes to the current limits on engine testing noise.
Mark says the airport’s application does not signal any immediate change to the noise generated by the airport.
“In reality, airport noise will change gradually over time as activity levels grow, and the pattern of noise will change once aircraft begin using an extended runway.”
More information will be available on the airport’s website, nelsonairport.co.nz, in the next few days, including an interactive mapping tool that allows property owners to search for their address and see what the changes mean for them.
ENDS