A grass aerodrome in the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead has failed in its bid to challenge plans for a 79-home housing estate nearby.
White Waltham Airfield is concerned new residents will complain about the noise generated by aeroplanes using the field, and argues the planning inspector who recommended granting permission didn’t properly take into account the likely noise levels.
Beaconsfield-based developer Sorbon Estates plans to build on the site of a business park adjacent to the former World War II airfield.
But lawyers for the airfield say the noise assessment that took place as part of the planning process didn’t fully take into account the fact that the airfield is likely to make large amounts of noise at antisocial times, such as weekends.
“The airfield still houses and uses some of the same noisy aircraft that there were used for training during WWII,” lawyers for the airfield said in their objections to the development.
The planned development “is also very close to the end of runway 21 and although aircraft using that runway do not actually fly over the proposed site they will be at approximately an altitude of 200-300 ft and a horizontal gap of approx 100m. The noise footprint of the aircraft enlarges as the altitude of the aircraft increases.”
“There are also aircraft starting up and conducting engine power checks on the threshold of runway 03 (reciprocal end of runway 21). All of these events can be very noisy depending on the type of aircraft… on 12 and 13 September 2016, when the noise survey referred to in the application was carried out, the runway in use was runway 25, not runway 21, which would have a much higher noise implication.
“Residents sitting outside will have to put up with engine noise from aircraft both on the ground and in the air. This will inevitably result in a number of complaints from the residents.
“We already receive complaints from occupants of houses built very recently, who feel that the circuit traffic from White Waltham Airfield is too noisy. These complainants are often very aggressive, overbearing and will ring up 10 times in one morning and shout down the phone.”
However, in a High Court ruling handed down today, planning judge Mrs Justice Lang rejected the airfield’s complaints, and ruled the planning inspector did properly interpret the noise assessment and did properly take into account the airfields objections.
White Waltham Airfield Ltd v Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead and Sorbon Estates Ltd
Planning Court (Lang J) 17 December 2021
