WHITEHILL Town Council has objected “in the strongest possible terms” to TAG Farnborough Airport’s proposal to introduce new flightpaths.

Speaking at last Monday’s full council meeting, councillor Mark Davison said that should TAG’s airspace change proposal go ahead it would mean more flights over Whitehill and Bordon, creating an “unbelievable” amount of noise pollution.

Fellow opponent to the plan councillor Adam Carew said the proposals are “not good enough for our existing residents”, let alone newcomers to the town.

He also said that Bordon’s regeneration “could be in danger”.

“People simply will not come here if they’ve got low aircraft flying over all the time,” he added.

Having previously filed formal objections to the plan during a consultation in 2014, the town council’s comments come as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is due to make a decision on the proposals.

TAG Farnborough Airport currently uses class-G airspace (uncontrolled airspace), which is shared with other airports and general aviation users. The proposed change would essentially mean it would have its own airspace in which to operate.

Contrary to objectors’ fears, TAG insists its proposal will lead to “fewer flights at low altitudes” as “arriving aircraft will remain higher for longer and departing aircraft will climb higher more quickly” - in turn resulting in a “net reduction in people overflown”.

But Mr Davison explained that therein lay a major problem as planes climbing quickly need to be flying “at full throttle”, which guarantees an increase in noise pollution.

“The documentation shows that all the aircraft will be funnelled up over Whitehill and Bordon,” he added.

He went on to explain that it was not just private business jets and the like.

“We’re talking 737s, A320s, we’re talking quite large aircraft,” he said. “The noise level is really quite high.”

Echoing a comment from Lasham Gliding Society, Mr Davison said TAG were asking to build “effectively a motorway next to a village”, but then claiming “they’re not going to use it”.

“The trouble is, once it’s built, they can do what they want,” he said.

This is especially concerning as TAG is “asking for such a large amount of airspace”. “What they’re proposing is a racket - so much pollution it’s unbelievable,” Mr Davison explained. “We’re trying to regenerate the town and it’s just going to blow everything out the water.”

Locally, this proposal has proved highly contentious, with vehement objections coming from East Hampshire’s MP Damian Hinds, East Hampshire District Council, the South Downs National Park Authority and general airspace users, such as Lasham Gliding Society - the UK’s largest gliding club. The society maintains that its very existence hangs in the balance.

Mr Carew said the “consultation has been insufficient” and criticised TAG for “flatly” refusing to meet and discuss the proposals.

“And that instantly makes you wonder what they’ve got to hide,” he added.

As the town is “surrounded by amazing wildlife” and “now two thirds of our parish is in the South Downs National Park”, Mr Carew highlighted air pollution as another concern. An increase in nitrogen can harm heathland, which is typically nitrogen poor and, although a common sight locally, is globally “rarer than rainforest”.

After initial consultations in 2014, which received more than 13,000 comments, the airport submitted a formal Airspace Change Proposal to the CAA.

However, last year “some aspects of the proposal” changed, including proposed flight paths in the north of Hampshire, West Sussex and parts of the South Downs National Park.

Consultation on this alteration saw an additional 600 stakeholders respond to the proposal, generating more than 2,800 comments.

TAG Farnborough said the concerns raised were similar to those in the original 2014 consultation.

The “four broad themes” were the “environmental impact (primarily noise)”, “access to the proposed airspace”, “safety” and the “justification for the proposed changes”.

TAG says “the proposed airspace change aims to create a more predictable flow of air traffic to and from TAG Farnborough Airport, which has advantages”.

These advantages are, according to TAG: “A new airspace environment with controlled airspace would create more predictability in planning and managing operations, and enable the introduction of routes based on advanced navigation standards.

“This could result in: more precise and efficient inbound and outbound flight paths; fewer flights at low altitudes as arriving aircraft will remain higher for longer and departing aircraft will climb higher more quickly; net reduction in people overflown, and reduced delays.

“Creating more efficient airspace at TAG Farnborough Airport would benefit airport traffic, other airspace users and the environment; and other general-aviation airspace users would maintain the ability to cross the airspace with permission from air traffic control or to fly around the airspace.”

A decision from the CAA is imminent.