A consultation document has been submitted for 2 parachute drop zones SW of Popham which will effectively close the busy NE-SW corridor between the Solent CTA and Middle Wallop ATZ (H24) in the area north of the Chilbolton radio telescope West of the junction A34/A303 and Andover.
All traffic transiting below 2000' AGL would then have to negotiate a 2nm gap south of the A34/A303 junction and the Solent CTA (SFC-2500') or a similar sized gap but with a much more complicated route between Middle Wallop ATZ, the DropZone boundary and Thruxton ATZ.
Dropzone:
SFC to FL120
Centre point: 51° 11' 08" N, 01° 25' 43" W
Size: 1.5Nm Radius
SFC to 6500ft
Centre Point 51° 11' 06" N, 01° 22' 02" W
Size: 1.5Nm Radius
The applicant - Mr Christian Ivory of London Skydive Centre states
"We would like you to contact us by email to either inform us of your objections or concerns relating to this proposal, or to let us know that you have none, by Friday 27th April 2012". [email protected]
He also states
"We are available to meet in person or communicate with any party, organization or individual to elaborate where appropriate at
a time and location convenient to you."
I believe this represents a serious safety concern. Although the application is initially limited the proposed growth of utilization will restrict this airspace most of the time during much of the year.
Edited to add a link to the document:
http://tinyurl.com/co3hfb8