Norwich Airport runway work upsets locals sleep
25.11.05
Locals living near Norwich airport have been woken up by a loud rumbling at night - and it isn't the sound of night flights. The airport has been resurfacing its runway, but those living nearby say the work has been keeping them awake. Airport bosses said they had no choice but to carry out the work at night.
According to local people, the noise has been as bad as if planes were touching down all night. The noises began at 22:00 and went on for three hours.
'It sounded like a very large turbojet with the engine first idling and then roaring up. The sound could be heard well above my voice level. I have asked the airport why this can't be done in the day to prevent the intrusion in the same way as roads. They told me it was because they have aircraft using the runway during the day, but they close roads to traffic when they are being resurfaced,' one local protested.
They have added the intrusion to a list of problems at the airport including night flights, engine testing, increased traffic levels in the area and holidaymakers parking in residents' spaces.
Naomi Balcam, of the Broadland Residents Opposed to Airport Disturbance (BROAD) campaign, said: 'I would like to see the airport doing this sort of work during the day. Unfortunately, they will always say they can't do that because it would disrupt flights, but what about disrupting people's sleep?'
Shelagh Gurney, who represents Hellesdon on Broadland District Council, said: 'I have had about half a dozen complaints about this and from all accounts it was excessively loud and went on for a long period of time. I think that at the very least the airport should have warned the local community that the work was going to be taking place.'
A spokeswoman for Norwich International Airport said: 'We were forced to make repairs to the runway for the safety of our passengers. We were not able to do the work during the day because it is an active runway, but I would like to assure residents that there are no plans to carry out any further work. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.'
To book norwich airport hotels or norwich airport parking at the lowest price, click on these links to two great norwich airport parking and norwich airport hotels price comparison pages.
