Dundee West End residents have expressed overwhelming support for plans to revamp the city’s airport, despite concerns from their local councillor over noise and pollution.
Lib Dem councillor Fraser Macpherson had described proposals to expand the runway as “deeply worrying”, claiming that it would attract bigger, noisier planes and therefore a reduced quality of life for his constituents.
However, following his comments The Courier has been contacted by residents in that area who are keen to see the expansion take place.
We also visited the West End and asked people of all ages and backgrounds for their views.
George Lawson, 80, a retired electrician said: “I most certainly would like to see more flights in Dundee, especially to America – but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
“The noise wouldn’t bother me as I have double glazing and I’m also hard of hearing.
“You get more noise and bother from cars and sirens than planes.”
Theresa Okena, 40, a lawyer, would like to see more flights that connect to airports where airlines fly to Nigeria.
She said: “A bigger runway and more flights sounds absolutely amazing.
“What I’d like to see is more options for flying to London, as at the moment there’s only one airline that does it.
“There are a lot of African students in Dundee and it would make it a lot easier to fly home.”
Liam Deboys, 23, a student, said he was a deep sleeper and wasn’t worried about noise.
He added: “It wouldn’t bother me. For me it would be great to have more flights going to Europe, for example in Germany where my parents live.
“At the moment I have to fly from Edinburgh.
“I guess you’d hear some noise if you live near Magdalene Green, but it’s not something that would bother me – I’ve never even heard any of the existing planes.”
Jimmy Thomson, 61, a retired computer programmer, would like to be able to fly from Dundee to Dublin.
He said: “On the whole I’d be in favour of an airport expansion.
“I wouldn’t think the noise or pollution would be much wore than it is now.
“I’d like flights to Dublin and to some Eastern European countries.”
Ian Smith, owner of Indigo House on Perth Road, thought that more flights would be good for tourism and business.
The 50-year-old said: “There’s got to be a balance – I wouldn’t want anyone’s house price to decrease drastically because of airport noise, but I think that more flights would bring more tourists and customers in.
“In summer it’s very quiet because students go home, so encouraging tourism would be good.”
Lewis Brodie, 22, a barman, added: “I’d definitely like to see a bigger airport and more flights, it would be great to be able to fly to different places in Europe like Germany or places like Iceland.
“I wouldn’t be worried about noise at all.”
The proposals, which also include a replacement of the terminal building, are still at an early stage.
