Edinburgh Airport bosses have installed temporary noise monitoring stations in south west Fife following concerns about the proposed flight path.
One microphone has been erected in the Hillend garden of SNP councillor David Barrett’s home after he offered his land at a drop-in session earlier this year.
Mr Barrett said the decision to install the temporary stations, which will be in place for around two weeks at a time, was “a bit of a compromise” but accepted it was better than nothing.
Mr Barrett said: “The idea to install temporary monitoring stations came from one of the drop-in sessions that Edinburgh Airport was running in relation to the flight path proposals.
“I put forward that all of their data relied on assumptions and data collected outside of Fife. One of the key complaints has been that they have absolutely no noise monitoring in Fife and I have been trying to push for that to be done.
“I had asked that they install monitoring and develop at least a year’s baseline before any proposals were implemented.
“It’s a bit of a compromise in that, rather than installing a long term recording station, they’re installing ones such as that on my driveway for two or three weeks at a time and moving them about to try and develop some kind of baseline data.
“It won’t be for a full year and it will be in various locations. It’s not perfect but it’s something.
“I offered for them to put one in my garden and they have now done that. I know of at least two monitoring stations and there may be one other.
“They’ve gone ahead and pushed the proposal forward so it’s now a case of lobbying the CAA, telling them not to implement it because it’s not right to implement something when you haven’t got sufficient baseline data.
“One of the problems throughout the consultation process has been that it’s not easy for anyone to comprehend, having read very technical reports, what the impact will actually be.
“I don’t think it’s the right way to go about things, having predictions based on modelling which isn’t calibrated to Fife and is based off data from Gatwick and then not have adequate baseline data to then validate your predictions which you’ve told everyone.”
Concerns were raised about increased noise levels in Fife if the proposed E7A flight path is given the go-ahead.
A public meeting in Inverkeithing was previously told the new route would create as much noise as a “busy road side from 5 metres away” from 6am, everyday.
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: “We’ve listened to communities and have been proactive with the purchase and placement of these noise monitors, which will allow us to get a better understanding of noise in areas of Fife.
“The monitors will be placed in various areas so we can obtain information which will influence future noise mapping and mitigation.”
