Couple find passenger jets taxiing yards from their back garden after airport expansion
‘There’s a bloody great jet in our garden!’ complains Essex homeowner after Southend Airport changes take-off arrangements
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Your support makes all the difference.A woman woke up morning to discover that over 50 passenger planes a day were taxiing at the bottom of her garden.
Janet Marchant said new arrangements after Southend Airport expanded one of its runways, mean that the jets are now lining up for take-off every 20 minutes, just 150ft from the edge of her property.
The 67-year-old who lives with her partner Paul, said that the constant noise and smell had made their lives – and the lives of their neighbours Alex and June Carr – a misery.
“You can’t have a conversation in the garden with anyone because you can’t hear them,” she said. “When we are inside with the door closed we have to pause the TV until the plane has gone past.
“We worry about our grandchildren coming around and the enjoyment of having people over for BBQs is ruined. I love my garden and used to do a lot of gardening but now it is all spoilt with the noise and the smell.”
Ms Marchant said the problem began in November 2017 when the airport revamped and expanded “Charlie Taxiway” – the route used for planes taking off from the eastward runway. It left planes lining up much closer to the couple’s home while waiting to take off from 6am to 11pm every day.
The retiree recalled how she opened her curtains one morning and exclaimed: “There’s a bloody great jet in our garden.”
She said: “The pollution and smell is awful and it’s really noisy. My partner’s breathing is now not so good and my neighbours say they can’t sit outside or open their windows at certain times of the day.”
She added that she was also worried about the damage it will do to the value of her house.
“You do worry if you have a house viewing and there’s a huge plane sat at the bottom of the garden," she said.
Ms Marchant claimed she recently received a letter from the airport telling her to stop complaining about the noise to a forum on its own website.
A Southend Airport spokesman said: “We appreciate that the Wells Avenue properties were built close to the Charlie Taxiway, and are currently engaging with those residents through quarterly meetings and are actively investigating active measures to reduce noise. The airport has ambitious plans to grow, and will continue to work closely with the CAA [Civil Aviation Authority] to ensure the airport remains safe and environmentally responsible for all our stakeholders.”
Addressing her claim that she has been told not to continue complaining, the spokesman added: “We have recorded and investigated over 430 individual complaints and found that in every case, the aircraft concerned was operating normally, legitimately and within the airports operating framework.
“It is worth noting they are suspended, not banned and that the decision was made by the ACC [Airport Consultative Committee], not the airport.”
The ACC which acts as a forum for discussion between the airport and local community.
Around 1.4m passengers passed through Southend airport in 2018. Ryanair, Loganair and Flybe operate from the facility which is capable of handling large passenger planes such as the Boeing 757 and Airbus A321.
Additional reporting by SWNS
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