§ Mrs. Kellett-Bowmanasked the Secretary of State for Defence, in view of the growing anxiety regarding the recent substantial increase in low-flying aircraft activity in the Carnforth area, if he will give reasons for, and the expected intensity of, low-flying activity in the area and its expected duration.
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§ Mr. WellbelovedAs I informed my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucestershire, West (Mr. Watkinson), on 12 December, we have recently revised the system of low flying in order to improve the facilities for this essential operational training, and to remove the concentrations of flying which occurred from time to time within the old system.—[Vol. 960, c. 149–50.] As the revised arrangements distribute the flying over a wider area of Great Britain, some districts such as the Carnforth area may see rather more of the activity than they have been accustomed to in the past. It is too early to predict the precise effect in particular localities, but a main purpose of the revised system is to disperse training evenly, and we hope this will be of general benefit to the public.