Low Flying, the Community and the Environment

• MOD environmental policy
• Military flying and the environment
• Wind Turbines
• The measures taken to minimise disturbance
• Noise and health
• Avoidance policy
• Livestock and horses
• Regional Community Relations Officers
• Claims and compensation

The Ministry of Defence is committed to the protection of the natural environment, by avoiding harm or nuisance, whilst maintaining operational effectiveness. Our activities are carried out in accordance with the Government’s overall environmental policy. We are committed to compliance with the relevant legislation, including the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990, and the Environment Act (EA) 1995 as it is brought into force, and will invoke Crown or Defence exemptions only where it is essential to maintain operational effectiveness. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Dr. Lewis Moonie MP, is responsible for the development of environmental strategies appropriate to defence activities. We are very aware of the duty of care we have to the management of the environment in which we work and live.

In meeting these objectives, we routinely consider environmental impact as part of procurement and other decision making processes. We give appropriate funding priority to environmental issues, particularly those activities involving compliance with legislation, and operate management systems to ensure legislation is complied with (unless Crown or Defence exemption has, exceptionally, been invoked). Within the Department, we promote environmental awareness and performance through effective education and training, and maintain expertise to manage and implement environmental protection measures. Find out more about MOD’s environmental policy and read an electronic copy of our conservation magazine, Sanctuary, on the MOD website.

Military flying and the environment

We aim to minimise intrusion and the other effects of noise in all our activities. Much of our equipment is designed for an operational role in a military environment – a task not necessarily synonymous with quietness. It must be exercised in as realistic a manner as possible if we are to ensure that our armed forces maintain the necessary high levels of readiness. This might include blank or live firing on ranges and training areas and tank exercises. Low flying is also an essential training activity. It must be carried out regularly if service personnel are to be ready to deploy at all times. Maximum use is made of simulators for all types of military training, including flying training, but they cannot replicate the physiological and psychological pressures of combat, nor provide an acceptable substitute for ‘real’ flying.

Wind Turbines

The Government is committed to increase the proportion of our energy needs produced from renewable sources.  The Ministry of Defence acknowledges that a significant proportion of this can be achieved through the use of wind turbines and is therefore supportive of the Government's targets.  Military training can be adapted to take account of many interests, including those of the wind energy industry.  The Ministry of Defence participates in a consutation exercise with wind energy developers that allows us the opportunity to highlight any concerns it may have over particular proposals.  The Ministy of Defence has a responsibility to ensure that proposals to develop wind turbines do not compromise our radar and communications systems, or unnecessarily inhibit the ability to conduct low flying training.  Each proposal is considered on its own merits.  But as a general rule objections to wind turbine proposals are only raised on the groundsof low flying in crucial cases.

When an objection is made, developers are now advised of the reasons, and constructive advice is offered on how these concerns could be minimised.  In most cases if aircrew know where wind turbines are, they can treat them as they would any other obstacle to be avoided.  However, the proliferation of wind turbine developments does restrict the available airspace for certain training, particularly Operational Low Flying (OLF) training.  This is why, as far as military low level training is concerned, one of the Ministry of Defence's principal concerns relate to wind turbine development in the three Tactical Training Areas, and around LFA 13 at RAF Spadeadam.  Outside of these areas, and in some cases on the edge of these areas, the Ministry of Defence will generally not object on low flying grounds to wind turbine development.

The measures taken to minimise disturbance

We know that low flying military aircraft can be noisy. For this reason, we regulate and restrict low flying training to provide a sensible balance between meeting our essential requirement to train military aircrew and the equally important need to minimise disturbance on the ground. We do this in a number of ways:

• We spread low flying training as widely across the UK as we can, avoiding major built-up areas. This ensures that the disturbance is spread as thinly as practicable, and reduces the noise burden in any one region.
• We limit the amount of low flying training to that strictly necessary for aircrew to achieve and maintain operational effectiveness. The right to carry out low flying in the UK is limited to British military and UK-based United States Air Force aircrew. Personnel from other NATO allies are only generally permitted to use the UKLFS on a reciprocal basis or during joint exercises. We ensure that the same conditions are imposed on them as would be applied to UK aircrew flying in their country.

• We do the vast majority of our low flying training during daylight hours on weekdays. A limited amount of weekend activity by Hercules transports, University Air Squadrons/Air Experience Flights and helicopters is permitted in support of military reservists and other forces unavailable during the week. We aim to avoid low flying on public holidays altogether (although some Search and Rescue helicopter training does take place from time to time).
• At night, we require low flying training to be completed as early as possible and only very rarely will we permit military jet aircraft to operate after 11pm.
• We limit the heights and speeds of low flying aircraft. Ideally, every practice sortie in a fast jet would contain an element of flying at around 100 ft and a speed of about 600 knots. However, we know that this would create too much disturbance, so fast jets are not permitted to fly below 250 ft outside specially designated areas. Our experience has shown that the value of low flying training diminishes above 300 ft and ceases to become realistic at 500 ft. We therefore believe that training down to 250 ft represents a reasonable compromise between meeting our essential training needs and the equally important requirement to minimise disturbance. In addition, speed limits are imposed to reduce the effect of engine noise and during low level training airspeed is generally restricted to 450 knots, but more usually carried out at 420 knots. An absolute maximum of 550 knots is permitted for short dashes during simulated weapons attacks and air defence intercepts, essential to add realism to training.

Noise and health

Noise can be defined as unwanted sound. In normal everyday life it is one of the most widespread concerns of environmental pollution and complaints arise from a wide range of social, economic and work-related activities. Noise can intrude on privacy, interrupt work, sleep and communication, and aggravate or contribute to stress-related health problems. High levels of noise may induce hearing loss, and can lead to hazardous situations in the workplace. Nearly every activity produces noise, and equipment and vehicles at industrial sites and near railways, airports and major roads can be a very pervasive source of noise and vibration which can be particularly intrusive at night.

Noise in the workplace is regulated under health and safety legislation. However, environmental noise is very different as people have subjective reactions to different types. The acceptability of noise varies from person to person and depends on the character of what is heard, the level of sound itself, the time of day, frequency and duration. We make every effort to avoid creating health risks and take seriously any health concerns reported to us as arising from the effects of military activities. We have always accepted scientific opinion that at certain high levels environmental noise may be injurious to hearing which is why we have had procedures in place for many years to ensure that military aircraft operate within speed and altitude limits to contain noise below internationally recognised hearing damage thresholds.

In 1996 we reported to Parliament the outcome of a tri-national study involving experts from the UK, USA and Canada into the feasibility of carrying out epidemiological research to examine the possibility of a link between noise from low flying military aircraft and adverse health effects. However, the study found that because of the wide dispersion of military low flying and the infrequency of exposure to noise from this source by the average person, it would not be practicable to carry out such work on the health of overflown populations. Statistical calculations suggested an initial sample of at least 20,000 people would need to be included, but to allow for confounding factors and uncertainties in the pattern of exposure, the size of the study population would need to be increased by a factor of between five and ten.

Notwithstanding this, we keep abreast of national and international research concerning noise related health and hearing issues. In this work we are supported by leading, internationally-recognised, external bodies. Our scientists have presented the outcomes of research into the possible effects of military low flying noise on hearing at a number of major international conferences including those in Australia and New Zealand in 1998 and in Berlin in early 1999. They have also reviewed the work of, and held discussions with, German and Japanese researchers who have published in this area of work.

We are not complacent but, having taken into account currently available scientific knowledge, we believe that the restrictions we impose on the heights, speeds and operating procedures of military aircraft in the UK ensure that noise exposure on the ground presents no credible risk to human health. We continue to monitor and review developments worldwide, carry out research ourselves and, where appropriate, make the findings known.

Avoidance policy

Areas into which low level military aircraft are not permitted to fly are known as avoidances. They are approved at Ministry of Defence Head Office for one of two reasons: flight safety or disturbance. The avoidance areas surrounding major airports and busy airfields, helicopter landing sites, and glider and microlight sites all fall into the former category. Major built-up areas (generally those with over 10,000 inhabitants), certain hospitals, and some important conservation sites fall into the latter. A number of industrial sites where potentially hazardous activity takes place are also granted avoidance areas.

Anyone is able to apply for an avoidance area, and all requests receive serious consideration. While individual requests may seem undemanding, it would be impossible to meet training objectives if all of the requests for avoidances received each year were acceded to.  In addition, the creation of new avoidances further restricts the space available for low flying training, and can have flight safety implications or have the effect of concentrating activity of other locations.  This conflicts with the aim to spread low flying as widely as possible across the UK in order to minimise disturbance in any one area.  Therefore, new avoidances are only approved in the most exceptional of circumstances. 

There is however greater scope for approving requests for temporary avoidances for individual events with a pre-determined start and finish time and these are granted wherever possible. Typical events for which temporary avoidances can be given include: agricultural shows, rideouts and major sporting and cultural events in rural locations. Requests should be submitted in writing to: DAS LA OpsPol1, Zone H, Floor 5, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2HB. To allow effective promulgation to all flying units of the avoidance criteria requests should be sent 14 days before the event start date and contain the following information:

• Contact name and address
• Nature and name of the event
• Location, including a Ordnance Survey grid reference
• Dates and times for which the avoidance is being requested

Livestock and horses

However much we would like to, it would be impractical for low flying aircraft to avoid overflying all livestock or horses, even during particularly sensitive times of the year, like lambing. Horses are by no means as obvious from the air as people believe. Trees and hedgerows can easily hide a horse and by the time they are seen, it is often too late for aircrew to take safe and effective avoiding action. Additionally, if horses are not spotted until the aircraft is very close, taking avoiding action may cause greater disturbance than continuing with the existing flight path.

Regional Community Relations Officers (RCROs)

We have three RCROs serving the communities in Wales, southern Scotland and Cumbria & Tynedale. They act as the focal point for military low flying issues in their respective areas. Anyone living in the areas concerned is welcome to direct any complaints or enquiries to the relevant RCRO or to MOD Head Office. The specific areas covered, together with their e-mail addresses are as follows:

Post	Area of coverage	E-mail address
RCRO (Cumbria & Tynedale)	All CA and LA postcodes, and NE43 to NE49 inclusive	raf@rcropenrith.fsnet.co.uk
RCRO (Southern Scotland)	Scotland south of the Central Belt	rafrcro@southernscotland.fsbusiness.co.uk
CRO (Wales)	Wales and the Marches	rafcro@midwales.fsbusiness.co.uk

  Details of compensation procedures

Last Updated: 21 Oct 05