Representation by Susan Elfrida Oldfield
- Date submitted
- 13 November 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
It has been most noticeable that aircraft now fly directly over our house and garden, whether on incoming or outgoing flights. On occasions incoming flights are remarkably low-flying and noticeably noisier than before. Previously we could see the flights passing over areas well to the north of our property, i.e. flying closer to Edenbridge, but rarely did the planes fly directly over our garden and home, which is located 2.5 miles south of Edenbridge town centre. We understand that the flight path will always depend on the wind direction, but in peak holiday periods the noise disturbance has increased significantly, due to planes passing over every few minutes. We have lived at this location since 1994, without being disturbed by aircraft noise, but this summer we found it had become intrusive, to the extent that on occasions we had to wait until the plane had passed before continuing a conversation in the garden. The biggest plane is the A380 which on occasion has seemed terrifyingly low on an incoming flight, and deafening on an outgoing flight - definitely stopping conversation until it had passed over. I wish to register my dissatisfaction with the increase in aircraft noise experienced at our property, which has resulted from the new flight paths being chosen as a result of the Gatwick expansion plans. I do not favour the proposals to bring the northern runway into regular use, as I believe it runs counter to the overall aim of reducing air travel to meet carbon reduction targets. In 2019 my husband and I took our last flight to a foreign holiday destination that we could not reach by land or sea. We committed that year not to fly again if we could possibly avoid it, and we uphold that commitment.