Flight Path Blight Inevitable Consequence of Airport Expansion

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sun 6th Apr 2008

Chiltern Lib Dems have condemned Government plans to significantly increase the number of flights using Luton airport. The current National Air Traffic Services (NATs) flightpath proposals which will increase aircraft noise over Chesham and surrounding villages are the inevitable consequence of the Government's airport expansion policy.

Peter Jones Chairman of Chiltern Liberal Democrats said, "the current Government policy of never ending airport expansion is environmental madness. Its negative social impact is also now being seen locally with communities in Buckinghamshire being pitched against each other in the battle to avoid being overflown by new flight paths."

NATs has already tried to accommodate concerns about the current impact of aircraft noise on Wendover by proposing to move the Luton flight path a mile to the south. According to the NATs consultation document, the Conservative County Council objected to this proposal on the grounds that this would result in an "undesirable impact" on Princes Risborough. NATs claim that is why they are now proposing to move the flight path still further south away from Princes Risborough and Wendover and over the heart of the AONB.

Peter Jones added "This is no way to manage a hugely sensitive process. And none of this explains why NATs are now proposing to allow flights from Luton as low as 3,000 feet over villages such as Ballinger and Great Missenden. Nor does it explain why the concerns of statutory bodies such as the Chilterns Conservation Board appear to have been totally ignored to date."