Lamb to host public meeting on low flying aircraft

12.00.00am GMT Wed 25th Nov 2009

North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb is hosting a public meeting with Ministry of Defence representatives on 4th December at 7.30pm. It is to be held at Holt Youth Project, Old Station Way, Holt, NR25 6DY.

Norman secured the public event following a meeting with Minister Kevan Jones.

The Minister readily accepted that there had been serious problems in the Fakenham area due to a US Air force exercise. He said that when the Air force Airforce had been alerted to the disturbance that they were causing, they called a halt to the exercise and made alternative arrangements.

During the meeting the Minister was receptive to concerns about disturbance from low flying aircraft, whilst stressing the absolute importance of training. He offered to send a delegation to North Norfolk to attend a public meeting so that any concerned people could raise queries with them. This would also give them an opportunity to explain the training requirements and how they are undertaken.

Commenting Norman Lamb said "This seems to me to be a potentially valuable exercise and I agreed to assist with that."

"It is really important for local people to understand the training requirements for pilots in the RAF and air force US airforce. Most people fully accept the vital importance of training. There is a legitimate concern to ensure that the disturbance isn't concentrated on particular communities -provided training requirements are not compromised."

"The Minister also accepted that there is a case for continuing liaison between the RAF and local communities and suggested that there could be a mechanism to keep councils updated so that they can inform local residents. This is an issue which we can discuss with the MOD team when they attend the public meeting."