Letter to the editor: As a resident of Biggin Hill with a bona fide interest in the operating of the airport, I have to register my complete disgust at the Bromley Council u-turn.

The original promise (which was in situ when we moved here eight years ago and was a major factor in our decision to buy our current house) was that operating hours and numbers of flights in and out could not be increased in the future.

I feel that the borough-wide poll of residents was totally inappropriate as people living in, say, Penge or Beckenham have no interest at all in flights to and from Biggin Hill and are not affected by them in the slightest. What is the point in asking the opinions of people who are not even in the area? I believe that this exercise has given a very false view of actual opinion.

What I want to know is the percentage of people who live within a two-mile radius of the airport who actually voted in favour. I guess that would show a completely different outcome.

Is the council now going to help us to move house and sell our homes if we are now in a “blighted” area because of the additional noise and inconvenience that these new plans will bring? Are we deserving of some compensation for the about-turn by the council on their promise to protect the rights of local residents in Biggin Hill ?

I was glad to see that two of the councillors actually had the courage to stand up for their residents and oppose the plan. Unfortunately, this kind of fidelity to those they serve was not in sufficient evidence to block the proposals.

JA HARKNETT, Biggin Hill