Airservices experts fail to quell flight path anger on Tasmania’s Forestier Peninsula

FORESTIER Peninsula locals angered by aircraft noise say Airservices Australia is not listening to their concerns. SEE THE NEW ROUTE MAP

Bream Creek resident Joan Ward, pictured at the Dunalley Fish Market, is among those angered by an increase in flights over the area. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

FORESTIER Peninsula locals angered by aircraft noise say Airservices Australia is not listening to their concerns.

Residents held talks with the government airspace regulator in Hobart this morning to discuss the impact of recent changes to flight paths which they say are ruining residential amenity and having an impact on the tourism businesses.

MORE: FLIGHT PATH BACKLASH FORCES RETHINK

But despite Airservices saying it plans changes to reduce noise, residents say they are being ignored.

Joseph Holmes said the changes had shattered the tranquillity of the area and residents were preparing to take their complaints to Federal Infrastructure Minister Darren Chester.

“We haven’t been given a voice at any point in this whole process. It has not engaged the local communities affected by the flight path changes, which were implemented without consultation, without any ... advance warning at all,” he said.

Dunalley residents have voiced their opposition to flight noise over their seaside town. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

“We have been playing catch up with policies that have been put in place without any impact assessment whatsoever — not even the decency to speak with representatives of a local area, not even the human side dealt with, let alone the environmental and tourism impact.

“What we saw today is consistent with their ... interpretation of consultation.

“It is top-down, it is dictatorial, It is not in any way garnering feedback from the ground and the feedback that has been given to them has been disregarded.”

In a letter to residents, Airservices Australia southern operations manager Steven Clarke said it would not be reverting to the old flight paths.

“Community feedback indicated that most people believed the flight paths should revert to how they were prior to 14 September 2017,” he said.

“Airservices is unable to revert to the original flight paths, which relied on technology that is currently being upgraded in line with modern standards.”

Michelle Boyde, left, David Patman, Adrian Mathews, Nick Wood, and Rob Westland are among many Dunalley residents disgruntled about their serenity being shattered by 30 plane flights going overhead each day. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

Resident David Patman said Airservices had not offered any viable alternatives to the current flight paths.

“They put forward four alternatives. They weren’t really alternatives. One of one of them was just to stay with the existing flight path — which of course is unacceptable,” he said.

“So what they left us with was clearly their preferred option, which was called option two, and that does shift the flight path a few kilometres at the Kellevie end and it basically leaves it going over Dunalley and Murdunna. The effect there will be unchanged.”

He said the flight path changes were having an adverse impact on hundreds of residents.

An Airservices map showing the aerial path options for Hobart flights.

“There were three aircraft that went over between 11pm and midnight last night,” Mr Patman said.

“They were incredibly loud and woke me up. I live in this beautiful place and I just cannot believe that this could happen. It is wrong.”

In a statement, Airservices Australia said it had listened to residents concerns and had made changes.

“At today’s Community Aviation Consultative Group meeting in Hobart, Airservices announced it intends to implement an alternative flight path into Hobart Airport based on safety, air traffic management and community feedback.

“The implementation of an alternative flight path will see aircraft move further away and provide an improved noise outcome for some existing affected areas starting from Kellevie in the north to Dunalley in the south.

“The alternative flight path is now closely aligned to the original flight path while still achieving the safety outcome.”