HC Deb 01 February 1972 vol 830 cc103-4W
Mr. Elystan Morgan

asked the Minister of State for Defence what populated areas in the United Kingdom are designated as training areas for military aircraft; and what percentage of these areas are in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively.

Mr. Lambton

I assume that the question refers particularly to low-level flying training (involving strike, transport and training aircraft of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force) conducted at heights below 2,000 feet above ground level. Flying training conducted at heights over 2,000 feet above ground level is carried out over the whole of the United Kingdom, subject only to normal air traffic control procedures. Low-level training falls into three categories, as follows(a) Take-off, landing and local flying conducted within the vicinity of all airfields, generally within a radius of five nautical miles. (b) Authorised low-level flying training conducted regularly over all the more sparsely populated areas of the United Kingdom; these include greater or lesser parts of the following counties:

England
Berkshire. Norfolk.
Cambridge. Northampton.
Cheshire. Northumberland.
Cornwall. Nottingham.
Derbyshire. Rutland.
Devon. Shropshire.
Dorset. Somerset.
Gloucester. Stafford.
Hampshire. Suffolk.
Hereford. Westmorland.
Huntingdon. Wiltshire.
Lancashire. Worcester.
Leicester. Yorkshire.
Lincoln.
Wales
Brecknock. Glamorgan.
Cardigan. Merioneth.
Carmarthen. Montgomery.
Carnarvon. Pembroke.
Denbigh. Radnor.
Flint.

Scotland
Aberdeen. Inverness.
Angus. Kincardine.
Banff. Moray.
Berwick. Ross and Cromarty.
Caithness. Sutherland.
East Lothian.

Northern Ireland

Flying training has been suspended in Northern Ireland while the present emergency continues.

Low-level transit flights are also made over a number of other counties not normally used for general low-level flying.

(c)Air-to-ground weapons and bombing practice conducted at the following authorised ranges:

  • Bridgwater Bay, Somerset.
  • Castle Martin, Pembroke.
  • Cowden, Yorkshire.
  • Donna Nook, Lincolnshire.
  • Holbeach, Lincolnshire.
  • Jurby, Isle of Man.
  • Pembrey, Carmarthenshire.
  • Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire.
  • Tain, Ross and Cromarty.
  • Theddlethorpe, Lincolnshire.
  • Wainfleet, Lincolnshire.

In addition, low flying by helicopters and light aircraft of the Army Air Corps is widely practised throughout the United Kingdom wherever the Army has training and practice areas.

There are no totally uninhabited areas of any size in the United Kingdom but, so far as is possible, flying training likely to cause disturbance to those on the ground is confined to sparsely populated rural areas, and built up areas are avoided; however, the overflight of smaller communities and individual farms and houses cannot always be avoided.

It is not possible, without disproportionate effort, to determine what percentage of training areas for military aircraft are in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

Back to