Low flying planes over Harpenden?

There’s been an outbreak of noise recently in the local news about low flying planes over Harpenden, Luton Airport bound. So what is the score with plane noise from our neighbouring airport?

In a Herts Advertiser article published on 19 August, South Harpenden resident, Neil MacArthur complained that in his home he suffers from “a plague of Luton flights,” whereas a letter published in the same newspaper the following week, 26 August, from central Harpenden Granby Avenue resident, Steve Pryor, said “I do not hear an aircraft from one week to another.” With so little geographical distance between the two, yet poles apart in their beliefs, whose account do you side with?

According to the residents group Luton & District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN), the number of people subjected to high levels of noise has increased, despite a reported 16% reduction in the number of flights since 2008. So is noise nuisance also on the up in Harpenden?

Throughout the last quarter of 2009, London Luton Airport ran a period of consultation for their Draft Noise Action Plan, a voluntary initiative bidding to minimise the impact of noise on the local community. The plan has now been submitted to the Department of Transport. At the time, Glyn Jones, Managing Director of London Luton Airport stated: “This Draft Noise Action Plan consultation process provides an opportunity to consider our progress with respect to noise management and benchmark against others, and to continue to voluntarily deliver improvements for the benefit of the local community.”

So are the Airport management team doing all they can to keep local residents onside or are they just being seen to do the right thing?

Is all this noise surrounding the noise having a negative effect on the way Harpenden is viewed by the outside world? Could too much talk about it drive down our house prices and ruin the town’s enviable reputation of being a green place to live with high living standards? However you feel about aircraft noise in Harpenden, please share your views below.

And if you feel strongly enough to make a complaint about aircraft noise, you can fill in London Luton Airport’s complaint form here.