Expert says heritage will not be spoiled by Coventry Airport
03.02.06
Some of Warwickshire's most treasured scenes will not be affected by Coventry Airport's expansion, an expert said this week. Many campaigners fear its neighbouring picturesque villages and historic locations will be blighted by the sight of aircraft in the sky, but chartered landscape architect Clive Self, hired by the airport to examine its proposal for a new passenger terminal, believes such concerns are misplaced.
Self told the ongoing inquiry into the matter at Leamington town hall: 'I do not believe the development would generate any significant landscape or visual effects in the area around Coventry Airport during the day or at night. Regardless of the operation of the proposed terminal for commercial flying operations, this is already an active airport with more than 58,000 aircraft movements a year.'
'There are no nationally designated landscapes within the locality, and any one area would experience these additional flights for only a short duration, some of which would be during the hours of darkness or a least partially obscured by cloud cover.'
Mr Self's research found there would be 'negligible' effects on nearby 'tranquil' areas, and 'minor adverse' impacts on Stoneleigh, which has a designated conservation area. He said: 'The scope for viewing passing aircraft from within a built up area is limited by intervening buildings, and as such the aircraft would be less visible from the conservation area than they would be from the open countryside.'
And Mr Self thinks a greater risk to the visual attractiveness of the area would be posed if the application is refused, as this would result in more freight flights with larger aircraft. He said: 'It would appear that the same, or greater, visual effects from overflying aircraft could result from an increase in the volume of commercial activity at Coventry Airport in any event.'
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