After weeks of pressure the numbers of reported helicopters flying over Sutton has dropped, according to residents’ reports.
Throughout the summer irritated residents in Carshalton and Wallington inundated the news desk with complaints about noisy aircraft flying over head at increasing intervals.
The reason behind the drop in frequency has been attributed by the Civilian Aviation Authority (CAA) to the end of summer and decreasing daylight Harriet Moran, from Beddington Gardens, Wallington, said her summer was ruined by the noise.
She said: “I was at the end of my tether during this summer, constantly opening and shutting my windows to let air in but keep the noise out. On numerous occasions I couldn’t use my garden at all.
“This problems has been going on for many years now so I am delighted the localcommunity rallied.”
One resident even claimed to have found helicopter engine oil on his car and conservatory as well as his neighbour’s house.
Andy Lush, of the Helicopter Noise Coalition and a Sutton resident, said: “I have repeatedly sent photos of helicopters over the last two years and every time been told by the CAA are they will not investigate noise issues.
“So I submitted an FoI request to the CAA to see how many investigations into noisy helicopters they had carried out over the last 5 years, they confirmed that none had been carried out.”
A quick look at a map of helicopter flight paths shows that Sutton is right in the middle of the route between London Heliport, in Battersea, and Redhill Aerodrome.
London Heliport is the primary base for all commercial helicopters so residents should expect the trend to continue.
A London Assembly report confirmed the capital is limited to 12,000 commercial helicopter flights per year, which on average is about 30 per day.
Do you think the numbers of helicopters over Sutton has decreased since the end of summer?
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