Cotswold villagers' fears over 1,600-home plan under US bombers' flight path
Summary
Cotswold villagers living near RAF Fairford have raised noise and safety concerns over plans to build a new 1,600-home ‘garden village’ under the flight path of US bombers. Down Ampney has been identified by district planners as a suitable location to build 1,658 homes over the next two decades.
Details
Cotswold District Council is in the process of developing its blueprint for new development which would run until 2043 and aims to allocate land for 18,900 new homes. And Down Ampney is among the 10 strategic locations planners believe are suitable for sustainable housing development.
But locals, who already put up with the ‘intense’ noise and vibration disturbance from the American long-range bombers which fly to and from the nearby airbase, have questioned its suitability on safety and wellbeing grounds. David Eglise, who chairs Down Ampney Parish Council, was among those who spoke at the district council meeting yesterday (August 3).
“The proposed site lies beneath the operational flight path of RAF Fairford, a strategic US military airbase used by aircraft including B1B and B52 bombers,” he said.
Related stories
“Existing nearby residents already experience intense aircraft noise and vibration disturbances yet we are being asked to allocate this site before key points have been answered.” He went on to say that the World Health Organisation links aircraft noise to sleep disturbance and adverse health effects.
And he asked what evidence the council had that future residents would “enjoy a healthy and acceptable living environment in this location”. “There is also the point about aviation safety,” he added. “Government policy recognises that accident risk is the greatest during take off and landing which is why new development is strictly restricted around many runway approaches.
“Has the council obtained an independent assessment of the risks of placing thousands of more people beneath RAF Fairford’s flight paths? “I am concerned about a clear contradiction. RAF Fairford operations are considered significant enough to dictate change of design of land and drainage because of safeguarding requirements and bird strike risk.
“If these operations are important enough to influence how development is designed, why are they not important enough to influence whether development should be built there at all?
Report source: Gloucestershire Live