Residents in Flight Path Fight

Residents in flight path fight Thu, August 09 2007

By Robert Rowlands, Reporter Email: [email protected] Phone: 01635 564631 http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=4911www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=4911

Extra low-flying aircraft to fly over district in plans to expand air traffic capacity

THOUSANDS of extra low-flying aircraft a year will fly over some of the most unspoilt parts of West Berkshire and North Hampshire under plans to increase air traffic capacity. The proposals, which would see as many as 27 planes pass over as low as 6,500 feet between 5.30pm and 9.30am each day, are aimed at reducing traffic delays at Bournemouth and Southampton airports. National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the body behind the plans, predicts that the flights will produce decibel levels as high as a car travelling seven metres away at 40mph, although they would normally be lower than this. The area, which includes Hungerford, Inkpen and parts of North Hampshire, is currently overflown by commercial aircraft, but at a minimum level of 10,500 feet, where the noise impact is considerably lower. This week, parish councils beneath the airspace gave unanimous backing to Newbury MP Richard Benyon’s last-ditch attempt to press the Government to intervene and extend the planned consultation period beyond tomorrow’s (Friday’s) deadline. There was also a unanimous sense that the consultation process that began in May had been flawed, with many saying the original consultation document did not make clear the exact impact of the plans. Critics fear that the altered flight path would blight an area considered by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England as one of the most tranquil in the UK. Included in this space is an area of outstanding natural beauty in the North Wessex Downs. NATS says the plans are crucial to improving air safety, cutting pollution and allowing more planes to use the airspace. It says that, on current projections, 80 per cent of the time there will be only seven flights a day at the reduced height but admits that 27 flights will cross over the lowered airspace at other times. Crucially, NATS also admits that, with air traffic volumes rising rapidly each year, there will be no restriction beyond simple safety requirements on the amount of air traffic that can use the lower airspace. This is significant because both Bournemouth and Southampton airports are set to undergo massive expansion programmes over the next few years, meaning that many more aeroplanes will be travelling to and from the airports this extended airspace is designed to accommodate. Bournemouth is anticipating that passenger numbers will triple within ten years from one million to three million, while Southampton is predicting a sharp surge in passenger use, from 1.8 million in 2006 to three million in 2015 and six million in 2030. This week, Newbury MP Richard Benyon said there would be “hell to pay” if the Government refused to step in. “This has been a dreadful consultation process and I want them to address the very real concerns expressed about it,” he said. One of the scheme’s most vocal opponents, TV presenter and Highclere resident Keith Chegwin, said the consultation process had been “underhand”. “No one has really been informed, and I want to know why,” he said. “It’s like putting another motorway in the sky.” Hungerford mayor Peter Harries said: “If you are going to have aircraft flying that low over Hungerford, that’s obviously a bloody disaster. We will lose our rural tranquility, and that would be awful.” Ashmansworth resident Professor Johnnie Johnson of Southampton University said: ““It will have a disastrous impact not only on the environment but also on the rural economy. Why do people come here? For peace, quiet, solitude, and to get away from the 21st century - not to have it thrust in their faces.” Despite the clamour, NATS defended the plans, and said it would not extend the consultation deadline. A spokeswoman said the consultation process had followed Civil Aviation Authority guidelines.

It’s like putting another motorway in the sky

Keith Chegwin, TV presenter