Residents living near Birmingham Airport, particularly in Marston Green village, have expressed concerns and shared their experiences regarding noise disturbances from aircraft flying overhead, especially during night hours.
Marston Green is situated close to Birmingham Airport (BHX). Last year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service covered the decision by airport management to apply for an increase in permitted night flights, which Solihull Council approved. The increase raised the allowable proportion of flights arriving or departing between 11:30 pm and 6:00 am from five per cent to 7.3 per cent, with a suggested cap of 7.6 per cent. This corresponds to an average of around 21 flights each night.
While the airport has largely remained within these limits, 23 noise complaints were filed earlier this year, with Marston Green residents among the most vocal about the disruption caused by aircraft engine noise.
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One resident from Holly Grove, who has lived there for ten years, commented, “Some nights you hear it a lot. It has increased over the years. Ideally, we wouldn’t want any night time flights – it should be all during the day.”
Another longtime resident of the street, present for more than thirty years, reflected, “There has been more and more over the years. It’s not going to get less. There is talk of extra runways, flights to America – it is all going to increase.”
As conversation took place, a plane flew low overhead, prompting the resident to remark, “That’s one of the quieter ones.”
However, some residents have come to accept the noise. One stated, “When you live in Marston Green you come to accept it. You do get used to it. You have to live by something, like traffic on the roads. I was here when Concorde came in that nearly broke the windows. I just sleep through it.”
In Moseley Drive nearby, the reporter observed how sound from departing planes echoes between houses. A resident, who has lived there for 60 years, shared, “When these houses were built they said no night flights. One of the big planes takes off at 6 am every morning. You do hear them throughout the night, into the early hours of the morning. I imagine more airlines will use it; the night time flights will increase.”
Another neighbour compared the noise levels, saying, “You get used to it; to be honest, the trains are louder. You get the odd flight through the night, but about 10:30 pm, 11 it is quite quiet.”
A further resident expressed indifference to possible increases, noting, “I’m not too bothered if there ends up being more and more, I’m just used to it now.”
The complaints from the area were referenced in minutes from a Solihull Council sub-committee responsible for monitoring the airport’s performance. The minutes noted, “The majority of these (complaints) were received in January which appear to have been driven by poor weather conditions causing planes to divert from a standard flight path around the airport.” They also described the number of complaints as “relatively low.”
The sub-committee is scheduled to meet again in mid-October to review the airport’s performance during the crucial spring and summer months.