SAMPLE LETTER ON NOISE
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[DATE]
[
Dear { },
RE: Skydiving Plane Noise, Redlands Farm, Wanborough SN4 0AA
My home is [at/near] this Airstrip and I am very concerned about the impact of aircraft noise continuing from this Skydiving activity . The airport continues to grow and over the last year the additional noise impact is very considerable indeed at weekends and on public holidays� day and evening. The noise is no longer tolerable.
[I/We] can hear this noise in our garden and inside our house.
The incessant drone from this aircraft is very distressing. [I/We] can no longer enjoy our homes at weekends. The activity has been occurring most weekends.
I/We do not feel that there was adequate local consultation and there are many questions regarding the operation of the Parachute Centre that need to be answered. Is it true that in the first year under temporary planning permission the parachute plane took off and landed at Upper Upham?
The noise is affecting my/our quality of life. The plane is very noisy. Although the Department for Transport defines 63 dBA Leq as 'moderate annoyance' the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that:
�to protect the majority of people from being moderately annoyed during the daytime, the outdoor sound pressure level should not exceed 50 dBA Leq.�
I am reliably informed that the Department for Transport's definition of moderate annoyance occurring at 63 dBA represents a sound intensity 20 times greater than the WHO 50 dBA definition of moderate annoyance. I would have thought that the WHO has more knowledge and authority on the subject than the Department for Transport.
The Department for Transport and BAA suggest that noise can be mitigated, for example, by paying for double glazing. How is it possible to double glaze my garden so that I can enjoy a summer's afternoon with friends and family free from the constant intrusion of aircraft noise? This is a wholly unsatisfactory response!
I would be grateful if you could raise these points on my behalf with Swindon Borough Council, The Planning Department, the Noise Enforcement Team and the Department for Transport and seek answers.
Yours sincerely
[NAME]
Copyright, 2003. Swindon Plane Campaign.