– It seems to be a thorough judgement. We have reached important points, says lawyer Arild Paulsen from the law firm Simonsen Vogt Wiig. He represents people who live around the combat aircraft base on Ørlandet in Trøndelag. Over two hundred landowners around the airbase sued the state. They believe their properties have been put at a disadvantage and that the value of their houses has decreased since the new F-35 fighter jets arrived at the base. This is mainly about noise. They refer, among other things, to the Neighborhood Act and that you must not cause unreasonable or unnecessary inconvenience to neighboring property. Now the Trøndelag district court has ruled that many of those affected by the noise are entitled to compensation. Half of those selected get The trial lasted four weeks in April. As the case affects so many houses and people, 16 properties were selected to represent the landowners. These were ten ordinary properties and six agricultural properties. In the judgment from the district court, five out of ten owners of ordinary properties have received fairly large amounts in compensation. This applies to those with the most noise deterioration. Half have not received it. – The court has considered without doubt that there is no basis for compensation for these, says lawyer Paulsen. Here, senior engineer at Forsvarsbygg, Hege Aamodt, measures noise during a takeoff on Ørlandet in April. The court spent several days inspecting the properties around the base. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news The demands were around NOK 700,000-800,000 per property on average. In the damages awarded by the district court, there are large individual differences in the amounts. Of the six agricultural properties that represented farms during the trial, three have received compensation. – We are of course satisfied that a good number have been approved. Now we want to take a closer look at the court’s reasoning, says lawyer Svein Aalling at Advokatfirmaet Seland | Rödl & Partner AS. The case concerns that there has been more noise on Ørlandet after the arrival of the new fighter planes. Here, the F-35 takes off from Ørlandet during the Arctic Challenge exercise earlier this year. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news The decision for the 16 selected properties can be used as a basis for handling the around 190 other properties affected by the noise. – We have received the judgment today, and have noted the judgment which acquits the state in full of the claims from eight of the 16 plaintiffs, and awards partial compensation to the other eight. We see that we are far from being upheld in our legal claims, says lawyer Håvard H. Holdø at the Government Attorney. The government attorney has the case for Forsvarsbygg and does not agree that eight should be awarded compensation. – It is still our view that there is neither legal nor factual evidence for compensation in this case, which we believe is also substantiated by the evidence presented during the main hearing, says Holdø. It is too early to say whether there will be any appeals. A key question during the trial has been whether the aircraft noise on Ørlandet has turned out as expected. One of the state’s arguments against the landowners is that there has been a military base in the area for a long time. Previously, fighter aircraft in Norway were distributed between several air bases. Most of the country’s new F-35 fighter jets now have their main base here on Ørlandet at Fosen in Trøndelag. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news Then it should be in the cards that there will be noise from fighter planes, they believe. The landowners have indicated that it has been impossible for people to predict what the noise will be like. Among other things, because Norway has never before had the F-35, and that it is completely new that the country gathers so many fighters in one place. Ørland is set up as the country’s main base for the F-35 fighter jets. – We will now review the more than a hundred-page judgment in more detail, and give our recommendation to the Ministry of Defence, which will make the final decision on whether the judgment should be appealed against the eight who have been awarded partial compensation, says Holdø. – We will read the judgment thoroughly and assess what will be done with regard to those who have not received compensation – whether there are grounds for appealing for those who have not reached, says Paulsen. The parties have until September 15 to appeal the verdict. The complete noise picture in 2025 Norway has purchased 52 new fighter aircraft of the F-35 type. So far, 40 of the new fighters have arrived in Norway. It will not be until 2025 that all will be in operation, and that the inhabitants of Ørlandet will get to know the real activity that will come with the planes.
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The landowners around the combat aircraft base on Ørlandet in Trøndelag partially won in court – news Trøndelag
