Readers respond to an article by George Monbiot on the deadening effect of extreme wealth on those who have it, and how that affects all of us
“There must be something unresolved about a person who feels the need to fill the sky with noise and capture the attention of everyone he passes, whether he is on the road or the water,” says George Monbiot in his article (Extreme wealth has a deadening effect on the super-rich – and that threatens us all, 24 July). I am sure this would have hit a chord with many who live in or visit the North York Moors national park, as we are plagued by a small aircraft performing aerial stunts at weekends and on fine, sunny days. The peace and quiet is interrupted by a noise of varying pitch and volume as it climbs and falls, twists and turns – the sound amplified as it rebounds off the dale sides into the dales.
National parks are supposed to be places for quiet enjoyment, with restrictions put on activities for those on the ground, but the skies seem free to be abused. We can accept low-flying jet aircraft when they are training – they come and are gone – but this loitering and polluting the air for one person’s pleasure should be curbed.
Richard Colman
Bransdale, North Yorkshire