Representation by Margaret Anne Constantine
- Date submitted
- 24 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The proposal to route aircraft landing at Luton Airport over Great Gransden and neighbouring villages is shocking. Aircraft are now the first thing I hear when I get up in the morning (no longer the birds!), often as soon as I leave the house, throughout the day, and into the night. There are periods in the afternoon and evening when they are constant (every two minutes). We have had to put up with an increase in lorries in our village but the aircraft are far worse because they rumble, grind and whine for far longer than a passing vehicle. They also intrude on back gardens where residents expect to get some degree of peace and quiet. I dread to think what the noise will be like when air traffic resumes its previous levels or if Luton Airport is expanded. In the summer months the smell of aircaraft fuel is very strong. When the consultation was first notified, we were told that it was a change to stacking. I looked at the maps and concluded that we would be minimally affected here. When I first heard the planes, I looked again and a large black arrow had appeared on the maps over Great Gransden; no longer occasional stacking but a landing path. Great Gransden is, in large part, a designated conservation area. This means that it has buildings, a green environment, a history and a way of life that is considered worth conserving. Rural England is not just about green fields and traditional buildings; it is also about peace and quiet, night skies not hidden by light pollution or shattered by aircraft noise, it is an escape from the discomforts of modern urban living for residents and visitors alike. Residents here accept the constraints imposed by Conservation Area and listed building status. The air transport authorities should show some respect too. We already have two airfields here, which are largely for recreational flying. To add the landing of jet aircraft to this is unreasonable. I hope that the relevant authorities will seriously reconsider the options for the issue they are trying to resolve and take account of the highly deleterious impact the current trial is having on the quality of life in these villages.