Have say on flight path
Further to your excellent coverage of this story last week, Neil Findlay MSP, has now lodged a motion at Holyrood calling on Edinburgh Airport’s current flight path consultation to be scrapped and the process started from scratch to allow for a “more robust and credible consultation process”.
The Lothians MSP has noted that there were a number of flaws within the consultation itself, including a dubious claim by Edinburgh Airport that 25,000 fewer residents would be impacted from it expanding and increasing its flight path capacity.
The motion comes amid Edinburgh Airport’s second consultation into flight path changes, which will allow it to expand and grow its assets rapidly at the expense of communities in Fife, West Lothian, Falkirk and elsewhere. Residents have been affected by Airport expansion plans since planes started deviating from their traditional flight paths in 2015 and have reported loss of sleep, depression, and associated health impacts from noise disturbance. Seventy-one per cent of West Lothian residents who responded to the initial stage consultation are opposed to flight path changes and last week, around 120 people gathered in Livingston to voice their opposition.
It is one thing to move to a house knowing there will be aircraft noise, it is quite another to suddenly have a busy flight path imposed on your home, or on the many tranquil places across West Lothian and elsewhere where people go for some R and R and where the peace and quiet will be ruined by jet planes roaring over if these plans go through.
It is clear that Edinburgh Airport has completely lost the trust of communities; their consultation is so fatally flawed that it cannot be allowed to continue. Edinburgh Airport is already flying planes along the new routes they are supposed to be consulting on, which has resulted in reports of sleep deprivation, ill health, and depression. Yet the airport has failed to look at the health impact on communities. We are not opposed to airport expansion per se, but are against unfettered expansion. We believe in democracy and a fair and proper process.
The airport’s consultation is poorly designed, unclear, and intended to confuse and divide communities. We urge everyone – whether they are under any of the proposed flight paths or not - to contact their MSPs now (Constituency and Regional List) and ask them to sign Neil Findlay’s motion number S5M 04708 so that the airport’s discredited consultation process can be opened up to proper parliamentary scrutiny.
Three easy steps to ensure this important motion leads to a debate in Parliament: 1. Look up your MSPs https://www.writetothem.com; 2. Email them to support Neil Findlay’s motion https://bb.parliament. scot/…/DetailsPart…/S5M04708/20170321; 3. Copy us in your email edinburghairportwatch@gmail. com and tweet or Facebook that you have done it.
Find us on Facebook at Edinburgh Airport Watch and on twitter @EAW_ group. Thank you. Helena Paul, Edinburgh Airport Watch