South Cambridgeshire MP tells Commons residents must be heard on plane noise after Luton flightpath complaints

The government needs to do more for residents disturbed by plane noise, Anthony Browne MP told a House of Commons debate.

The Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire secured the adjournment debate on Monday (January 9), which takes place at the end of a session in the House of Commons, following a dramatic increase in plane travel over villages in his constituency due to changes to flightpaths into Luton Airport.

While proposals to change the flightpaths were consulted on, Mr Browne believes that people’s thoughts were elsewhere during the pandemic and that the technical documents in the consultation were not suited for general consumption.

Mr Browne said: “The impact and disturbance in South Cambridgeshire has been much greater than the consultation indicated. My constituents have suffered, as have those in other areas, and this must be put right while ensuring no other village meets with similar challenges.

“Local people must be provided with the opportunity to express their views on proposed changes, and they must have their voices heard.

“I want to transform the process for flightpath implementation and to provide residents with a fresh opportunity to share their thoughts formally on the new flightpaths.”

At the conclusion of the debate, Mr Browne received assurances from the minister that the post-implementation review period would be extended to September 2023, that local residents would have a direct channel for complaints post-implementation, and to meet with Mr Browne to discuss the points raised at greater length.

The MP is proposing a number of actions and changes to reflect the current local situation. He has asked the government to:

• Revise the guidance to reflect the differing ambient noise levels of urban and rural areas.
• Ask the Civil Aviation Authority to extend the review by a further three months, to September 2023.
• Review the CAP1616 process for changing airspace for this and future consultations to ensure there is a more independent analysis once the new flight path is implemented; and
• Ensure that National Air Traffic Services hold to their word and share their ADS-B and radar data as they agreed to do in Mr Browne’s recent local meeting.

The debate follows work with local campaign groups and a meeting convened with neighbouring MPs, the National Air Traffic Service, the Civil Aviation Authority, and officials from Luton Airport.

Mr Browne said he had received “huge amounts of anguished correspondence” from constituents who were unaware of the changes. Many residents complained of sleepless nights as they are awoken every time a plane goes over-head, which can be up to every two minutes in busy periods. Others have said they feel like prisoners in their own homes, unable to use their gardens that have become “echo chambers” for all-consuming plane noise.