Response to the application can be submitted to the council until the deadline on May 22.

ALMOST 100 online comments and letters of objection have been sent to South Gloucestershire Council in response to plans for a new helicopter base in Almondsbury.


Plans to move the base of the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity and police helicopters from their existing location on Filton Airfield to land in Almondsbury were submitted last month.


The owners of the airfield, BAE Systems, have been heavily criticised for failing to provide a site for the services despite promising to do so, and MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke Jack Lopresti has asked them to honour the agreement.


At the time of publication, two comments supporting the proposals and 87 objecting to them have been submitted.


The site, adjacent to the Almondsbury Interchange (the junction of the M5 and M4 motorways) is Green Belt land and many of the objections concern the development of the Green Belt.


Noise and distractions caused to drivers are two other common themes throughout many of the letters of objection.


Last week, Mr Lopresti sent a letter to each Almondsbury resident informing them that he has spoken to asked BAE Systems to tell them “that the [Almondsbury] site wasn’t acceptable due to it being on Green Belt and very near the residents”.


Earlier this year, he wrote to the firm calling on them to honour their pledge to keep the GWAAC at Filton airfield: “As a charity, The Air Ambulance has a great deal of public support, as does the police helicopter. I do not want the fantastic work they do serving our local community to be jeopardised.


“The closure of the airfield was a very difficult issue locally. I expect that BAE is able to honour the guarantee that a site will be found at the airfield for the Air Ambulance and the police helicopter. I believe that this is the only option.”


BAE Systems has yet to respond to the Gazette, but however a spokesman for the scheme said: “Both the police and ambulance will be doing all they can to keep any disruption to a minimum.


“The scheme has been designed to minimise any distraction to drivers and the development team is working with Highways England.”


The planning application can be viewed at southglos.gov.uk, with the application reference PT15/1438/F.