Representation by Nicholas Selmes
- Date submitted
- 24 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
In the past, when planes flew over our house during the day, the noise would prevent me from carrying on a conversation in person or on the telephone; neither could I hear my radio or television. When the planes flew over our house by night, they would always wake me up and I would have difficulty getting back to sleep, resulting in a very disturbed night. Apart from noise pollution, there is also pollution of the air to consider.
We currently rent out our basement flat, and this earns us an income on which we rely. If night flights begin, our existing tenant will probably leave due to the noise and we may well find it impossible to replace them. This will have a significant impact on our retirement income.
My wife is planning to retire shortly, and we have been thinking of starting a bed and breakfast, as there appears to be a lack of such accommodation in central Ramsgate. However, the threat of planes flying overhead has changed our minds about investing in a business of this kind.
In the past, height restrictions were flouted on numerous occasions. What does not seem to have been taken into consideration, is that the ground is not at a constant level along the glide path. An acceptable flight height over the sea, is far too low when planes reach the properties on East Cliff. The ground then falls away again along the flight path, but as planes will be descending towards the airport, many properties, for example at Nethercourt, will also be affected by excessive and unacceptable noise levels. In their funding statement, RSP do not appear to have taken into consideration the very large number of locations which will qualify for compensation.