PROPOSALS for altered flight paths from Luton airport which would mean more noisy aircraft flying lower over the Chilterns and other parts of Bucks are 'little short of vandalism' which would cause 'untold damage to a nationally important area', Martin Tett, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, has said.
He was writing in response to a consultation by NATS (National Air Traffic Services), which proposes changing flight paths from Luton, Northolt and Heathrow airports. The Luton proposals are a particular concern as they would mean large aircraft flying at 3,000 to 4,000 feet above sea level over rural villages in the Chilterns which are already 600 feet above sea level. They would also require light aircraft to fly lower to avoid jet flight paths.
After consulting local residents the council says it is 'wholly opposed' to the proposals on grounds of noise, safety, CO2 pollution and increased air traffic (Luton airport proposes trebling the number of flights it handles by 2020. This could mean one aircraft every six minutes flying low over the Chilterns). The council feels NATS has not provided adequate information about the noise impacts the proposals would have on communities living under the flighpaths. Nor has it looked into retaining existing flightpaths which fly over Wendover and Princes Risborough at 4,500 to 5,000 feet and only resulted in six noise related complaints from residents between 2003 and 2007).
The proposal to use new precision area navigation technology (P-RNAV) would concentrate planes to the centrelines of new flightpaths, increasing the brunt of increased noise and pollution over those areas.
There are also concerns that Luton has relative lack of control over night flights compared to other major UK airports.
Cllr Tett believes that spoiling the tranquillity of the Chilterns could have implications for the important tourism economy of the area.
Concerns have also been raised about the very short period NATS will be taking to consider responses to its consultation before submitting its final advice to the Civil Aviation Authority. In his letter to NATS, Martin Tett says: "We do not believe that such a short space of time is consistent with NATS giving serious consideration to the many representations which it is doubtless going to receive and this casts serious doubt about the validity of the whole consultation process."
Today Martin Tett said: "We are not being NIMBYs here. We accept the reality of increased flights, but feel that these proposed changes raise serious concerns about health and safety. They could also damage the economy of the Chiltern Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which not only serves Buckinghamshire residents, but the 50 million visitors each year who are drawn to the peace and beauty of the area.
"One further major concern is that NATS cannot possibly be offering impartial advice as the major airlines have a majority stake in the company."
Are you concerned about the flightpath changes?
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