He said a helicopter landing pad at the harbour was an ''important component'' of the tourism potential at the harbour in both the long term and the short term with trips to regional attractions from Oamaru, or day trips between Oamaru and Dunedin, Queenstown or anywhere ''a good distance'' from the area.
The helipad in front of Scott's Brewery, in Oamaru, was removed in mid-July and the Waitaki District Council does not yet have a firm plan for a replacement site.
''We'd love to see a working helipad go in,'' Mr Berry said. ''Think about it ... you can come in and land in the harbour and have a day in that key tourism hot spot.''
In January, the council signalled a plan to create nine camper van parking spots in lower Wansbeck St east of Scotts Brewing Co, eliminating the helipad there.
At the time, the council issued a press release stating the helipad was ''surplus to requirements'', but the press release ''Campervan-friendly parking coming soon'' was retracted on the day it was issued, with the council citing a ''miscommunication''.
The council indicated further consultation with area businesses was required, including determining the amount of use the helipad received from local operators.
Meanwhile, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher and five councillors had been assigned to the council's ''Harbour Portfolio'' and were working to renew the 2011 Harbour Strategy to guide development on the waterfront, the Otago Daily Times reported in July.
The council's acting chief executive at the time, Neil Jorgensen, said the aim of the harbour strategy was ''to minimise ad hoc decision-making which might affect other areas, trying to get the overall view of what we actually want and work towards it''.
Mr Kircher said this week the council was ''weighing options'' and there were ''a few details to sort'' before it could designate a new landing-pad site in the vicinity.
However, it had not been a mistake for the council to remove the previous helipad at Oamaru Harbour, as there had been no consent for the previous site.
Mr Kircher said an approved harbour strategy did not have to be in place before a site was designated for a helipad near the waterfront, although a helipad had been part of the discussions in planning a strategy.
The council's roading manager, Michael Voss, wrote in an email this week casual use was provided for at the waterfront, as helicopter operators could ''apply to the council for landing rights''.
Five helicopters landed at the green space behind the Oamaru Creek penguin colony on July 27 for the funeral of North Otago helicopter pilot John Oakes.
Mr Voss said it was ''a bit premature'' to confirm a site for the new helipad and the future of the old helipad site was ''yet to be determined''. He gave the same response when asked if the area was still expected to provide camper van parking.
