IN what is being heralded a win for the community, a proposed helipad at Anna Bay has been refused by Port Stephens Council.

It was community member Max Stoker who originally raised widespread awareness of the proposal, and the baton was taken up by many who held concerns over the development.

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The Tomaree Residents and Ratepayers Association congratulated the community for seeing the development stopped, and are hailing the result as a win for people power.

The development application was refused by Council on multiple grounds, including that the proposed development is inconsistent with the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 and Port Stephens Local Environmental Plan 2013.

Council also deemed the development would be likely to detract from the rural character of the locality and impact the surrounding land uses negatively.

The development was considered likely to have a negative social impact on the locality and the development was considered unsuitable for the site.

With the development deemed not to be in the public interest, Council say consideration to community views was given when making the decision to determine the application.

Had the application been successful it would have seen up to 280 helicopter movements per week with a maximum of 65 movements on any one day between 8am-6pm, all taking place on the doorstep of the Anna Bay Lawn Cemetery.

By Marian SAMPSON