Aircraft noise becomes concern in Northgate after a hot summer

Rose Underwood, 65, of Redwood Close, has lived in Northgate for 16 years.

She has never before been concerned about the possibility of a second runway being built at Gatwick until this summer when she says she has been woken up from 5.30am by the sound of passing planes.

Mrs Underwood said she was concerned the busy summer period was just a taster of the amount of noise she would hear if the airport was to create a second runway.

The pensioner said she had noticed the noise since August 11.

She said: “I get into bed, get all nice and comfortable and just about to nod off and they start off again.

“Of all the years I’ve lived here, you might have maybe once a year heard a plane before.

“When you buy a house you buy your house to make sure you’re not on the flight path, then bang wallop, this kind of thing happens.”

She was even concerned that the airport might have already changed its flight paths after The Crawley Observer reported (September 11) that Gatwick had been chosen to pilot a number of ways to help limit the number of people affected by noise.

But Gatwick said there has been no change to flight paths and the only planes which fly over Northgate are those from Heathrow or occasional Gatwick aircraft at more than 7,000ft above the ground.

The spokesperson added that some planes may pass over Northgate if they had to perform a ‘go-around’- when a pilot aborts a landing and has to circle to come back in again.

The spokesperson said: “We have had a busier summer than last summer but the flight paths have not changed so this isn’t the reason for any perceived increase in noise.

“One thing that may make people notice aircraft noise more this year is the fact it has been so warm – more windows open, particularly at night, so therefore noise may be more noticeable even though it has not increased.”