“if i get woken up because someone is being flown over because of medical needs that's fine because one day it might be some one i know who needs it. stop being so selfish all you people complaining about it, it's not like they are building a comercial airport on top of the BRI. you people make me sick”

“As a resident of Kingsdown with two young children (and living in a Grade II listed building incidentally), I would like to say that I have no concerns or objections whatsoever to the proposed helipad on he BRI, and would in fact welcome it. Residents of Kingsdown are well used to police helicopters in the vicinity and neither I nor my children are woken or disturbed by the noise, despite not having double glazing. We live in a central location in the city, not a remote country village. It is naive to expect total peace and quiet, and it is both selfish and ridiculous to object to something that will be saving lives and helping people. I can only assume that Peter does not have children himself or he would not have this point of view. One suggestion Peter, please buy some curtains or blinds for your bedroom and bathroom, if not only for your own sake, but for that of other Kingsdown residents whose view YOU may be spoiling!”

“I do not think there will be a helicopter every ten minutes Peter.

Just for emergencies, it's not for you to decide what is aand what is not valid.

I think the price of flying the copter will dictate how often it is used.

I very much doubt there will be frivalous night flights.

If you do not like it then I suggest YOU move.”

“PETER IS STUPID

IF ONE OF MY BABIES WAS ILL AND WANTED TO GO TO HOSPITAL THWN I WONT LET HIM STOP THEM BECOS HE WANTS TO SLEEP!!!

SELFISH MAN”

“You sound like a right one Peter.

I can see the BRI from where I live, and any supposed problems with the helicopter would probably affect me more.

Am I complaining? Have I been consulted? No to both.

It's as Aristotle would have wanted, we go for the greater good, so if you miss a couple of seconds of Top Gear due to an emergency air lift then so be it.

No to NIMBYS

Yes to hospital efficency.”

“Alex - Victorian standards??
What are you on about?

I presume that you know something about medical / ambulance helicopters and how they can be used and abused.

Thought not! And I am sure that almost all the other contributors to this debate don't either. I have flown in them overseas and I can tell you from experience that they may not necessarily be used in the way that some people on here seem to think or be particularly advantageous in many instances.

As I said I don't care about the view, that's just an indication of how close it will be and in principle I am happy that a helipad could be available for patients who really need it.
However we regularly get buzzed by the police helicopter in the middle of the night, rattling the windows and waking us up. What we don't want is regular indiscriminate use of a helipad on top of the BRI with all the noise disturbance and vibration that goes with it, just because it's there, rather than what might be a more appropriate 10 minute ambulance journey by road. You only have to look at some of the cases reported in the Evening Post that the GWAA was called to, to realise that far from all of them actually needed a helicopter in attendance.”

“Nimby eh Peter?

just because you live near to a hospital you expect it to adhere Victorian standards?

it's called progress, and saving lives are more important than the view from your flat”

“I would like to thank all those who won't have to live close to this potential facility for your comments. It's very easy to shout NIMBY (or far worse looking at some of the comments on this site), but I would suggest that anyone who suddenly finds that they are going to be adversely affected by a planning decision is going to make sure that the disturbance / aggravation etc is at least minimised. Objecting to the planning application as it stands does not mean that you object in principle to there being a helipad.

For someone who lives very close to the site for the helipad, I can tell you that we will not be shielded from the sound and vibration at all, as the houses in Kingsdown are all up the hill from the pad. In fact I will have a perfect view of it from my bedroom and bathroom, as my flat is at the same level, and there is nothing between the roof of the BRI and the flat. I will probably be close enough to wave to anyone standing on it!

In principle I have no problem with there being a helipad for delivering sick patients to hospital, as I am well aware of the type of cases that should use it. However I do have a problem with the planning application and its noise assessment, which tried to make out that there would be no effect at all on what is in reality a fairly quiet residential area, despite being so close to the city centre and the students. Even the council officers in their report agreed that it was clearly a major underestimate of the disturbance likely to be caused, and that there would be significant noise pollution caused by helicopters landing and taking off. Having travelled in medical helicopters as part of my job I can tell you that they can be pretty noisy, even some distance away. Also the potential usage (2 flights a day)has been completely underestimated, as there are plans afoot to move not just paediatric neurosurgery to the site but also adult neurosurgery from Frenchay. If that happens the residents of Southmead will be able to sleep soundly in their beds as any helipad there would be largely redundant. I am aware that on occasions there have been as many as 3 landings and take-offs in an hour at Frenchay. I would describe that as a pretty major disturbance, and that doesn't include the extra uses such as heart cases and children that are indicated for the helipad at the BRI.

I also take objection to the implication that all of the uses of the helicopter are as major as made out in this piece. I am well aware that a number of cases transferred by Air Ambulance could just as easily be transported by road, possibly more safely in some instances. In Seattle the major hospital centre is also very close to local residential areas and provides local residents with anonymised updates on the reasons for which the helicopter was used. Could we have the same here so that we can ensure that it really is being used appropriately rather than just ferrying patients with relatively minor injuries or illnesses?

Finally I am amazed at the amount of bile some readers are willing to spew on a subject they actually know very little about. We have had 3 years of disturbance and upheaval as the new cardiac centre has been built but we have accepted that as part of living close to the hospital, however annoying it has been not being able to get in and out of your property for lorries and vans parking in front of your gates, woken early in the morning by deliveries etc, and on the basis that it was needed to provide better patient care. Likewise we understand some of the very good clinical reasons for a helipad. All that many of us are asking for is that the effects on our lives are minimised as much as possible. It's not like moving next to Bristol Airport and then complaining about the sound of aircraft as a number of people do - this was not something that the local residents anticipated happening!”

“I sometimes see the helicopters land at Weston General, comparing the noise levels it's more noticeable when an ambulance arrives than a helicopter. The helicopters also seem to arrive using a set flight path which avoids the most populated areas, it would surprise me if they didn't also do that at the BRI. Also the cost to run an air ambulance would limit flights and the new Bristol Heart Institute should shield most surrounding houses from noise. Taking this into account I can't see what people have to worry about!”

“I wonder if these people who are complaining would still be complaining if they were involved in a crash on the M4 in rush hour and it would take at leat 25 minutes to get them to hospital in an ambalance or 2 minutes in an air ambulance?
This is a great idea and I say this as someone who lives under a possible flight path for Filton and I'd support making that in to a busy airport as well!!”