Call for trial run of proposed flightpath

Woodhill Residents Group in Bishopbriggs said it would 
allow local people to judge for themselves the impact on their lives.

The airport launched a 13-week consultation in January as part of plans to modernise its airspace, describing the old flight paths as “no longer fit for purpose”.

Local politicians are urging people to attend a drop-in session being hosted by airport representative on Thursday, March 29 at Woodhill Evangelical Church, Wester Cleddens Road, Bishopbriggs ,from 10am-6pm to find out more about the proposals.

There has been confusion over the plans with many people contacting the Herald to say they do not understand the technical jargon, have not been informed fully of the proposals and expressing concerns over noise pollution.

Donald Macdonald, chair of Woodhill Residents’ Group, said: “Woodhill Residents’ Group have been discussing these proposals since they were made public.

“Whilst we appreciate that many local residents will use Glasgow Airport to go on holiday or business, we are concerned about the lack of clarity for something that might or might not be a problem for local residents.

“We have asked Glasgow Airport to route some flights over Bishopbriggs at the height and speed of the proposed flightpaths at pre-agreed times to let residents judge for themselves something that is highly technical, but could potentially have a negative impact upon the place they live.”

Green MSPs Ross Greer and Patrick Harvie are urgingpeople in areas affected by the flightpath plans to make their voices heard.

West of Scotland MP Mr Greer, who is from East Dunbartonshire, spoke out after joining Mr Harvie at last week’s airspace consultation drop-in event in Bearsden.

He said: “The high turnout at Bearsden’s drop-in event was fantastic and I’d hope to see similar in Bishopbriggs. But to ensure our communities’ concerns are heard, residents need to respond to the consultation document.

“Many attending found the face-to-face meeting particularly valuable due to the heavily technical nature of the document but that should not put off others from submitting a response. You don’t need to talk in the technical jargon of aviation to be listened to.

“Residents I spoke to at the hub raised concerns like the impact on schools under the flightpaths and how effective the respite routes intended for night-time flights will be at minimising disruptive noise.

“Although some changes are necessary to keep pace with guidance technologies, that cannot come at the expense of communities under the flightpath, as has too often been the case across the country. The proposed changes will have a significant impact in terms of overflights and noise, so it’s important that if you live in an affected area that you make your views heard before consultation ends on April 13.”

Mark Johnston, operations director at Glasgow Airport, said: “We are committed to growing the airport responsibly and modernising our airspace will help us achieve that. However, it is important 
communities are fully involved in this modernisation process and we will only make these changes once we have considered their views.”