§ 31. Mr. Mikardoasked the Secretary of State for Air what steps he proposes to take, when the United States Air Force resumes the use of the base at Greenham Common, to prevent the considerable nuisance which has been caused in the past to residents of the area by the noise of aircraft.
Mr. C. I. Orr-EwingI have recently visited a U.S. Air Force base and discussed the problem of noise at length with the general commanding. I can assure the hon. Member that the United States authorities are doing all they can to reduce disturbance to an absolute minimum. They could prevent it at Greenham Common only by stopping flying. The importance of the airfield to the common defence effort makes that impossible.
§ Mr. MikardoWhilst thanking the hon. Gentleman very much for the action he has taken, which I am sure will be greatly appreciated, may I ask him to represent to the commander of the base that, as far as possible, he ought to try to bar low flying near the National Institute for Research in Dairying which is nearby and in which the experiments are very much upset by vibration and noise from low-flying aircraft?