US bomber noise concerns for new Cotswold village

Residents say new households in a planned garden village will be living directly under the flight path of US bombers, if the development goes ahead.

Down Ampney, near RAF Fairford, has been identified by council planners as a suitable village to expand with 1,658 homes over the next two decades.

But existing homeowners have raised safety and wellbeing concerns. The village's parish council chair, David Eglise, said: "Existing nearby residents already experience intense aircraft noise and vibration disturbances."

Cotswold District Council's planning department said the Ministry of Defence did not raise any concerns with the proposals during recent talks.

Eglise added the World Health Organisation links aircraft noise to sleep disturbance and adverse health effects at a Cotswold District Council meeting earlier this week.

Fellow parish councillor Adam Crawford told the meeting RAF Fairford is the "only active military airfield in the UK" without a noise map.

Interim head of planning policy and infrastructure at CDC, Andrew Maxted, said the MoD has not flagged any issues with the proposal and added developments the size of the one planned at Down Ampney are more sustainable than a series of smaller ones.

Councillors are expected to approve a consultation on Thursday night in to the district's new local plan, which sets out where developments can be built over the coming two decades.

The government has said it needs to build 18,900 homes by 2043.

If passed, the consultation will launch at the end of the month and run for six weeks.

Cotswold District Council leader, Mike Evemy, said the council has pushed back against the government mandated housing targets, but has been told "on three occasions" they must remain in place.

He is encouraging residents to take part in the consultation and said it is important the local plan is passed before Gloucestershire moves to abolish the current seven districts and county council in 2028.

"If a plan is in place before the unitary council starts off, it will use that to determine planning applications in the Cotswolds - so as well as saying where the development is, it will say where development isn't going be," he added.

"The risk if we don't have a new local plan is that the new council would have five years to create one, so we would be in a position where speculative development could continue for maybe five more years if we don't succeed in getting ours through."

The council expect to submit the plan to the government by the end of the year, and it is anticipated it will be examined by national planners next year.

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