24 October 2006

Gilliam Merron MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DR

Noise from Recreational Light Aircraft

Recently I have received a substantial number of complaints about noise from light aircraft – mostly flying from Old Sarum Airfield at Salisbury.

The Local Authority has no control over aircraft noise or movements. Please can you confirm this?

I wrote to your predecessor a couple of years ago about aircraft noise. In both California and in Germany there are new, higher standards which require light aircraft to silence their engines (unlike almost all of them at present) and also to fit propellers designed to minimise noise – which I understand is achieved by reconfiguring the ends of each propeller blade.

Why is it not possible to enforce these higher, more environmentally friendly standards in the UK?

I would be grateful for your advice.