Concerns have been raised by residents recently regarding flight noise over the borough. There are likely to be several factors that have caused the increased aircraft noise in parts of the borough including changes to the Standard Instrument Departures at London City Airport (LCA) and impact of wind direction on flight paths at Heathrow.

In 2006 the London City Airport Master Plan was developed and sets out the growth and development plans of LCA through to 2030. Whilst it is unlikely the Masterplan for LCA is responsible for the current increase in flight noise, the impact of the changes has the potential to impact on the borough in the future.

The following actions have been taken by the Council to respond to residents concerns regarding flight noise over the borough.

  1. Officers have responded to the current BAA Heathrow consultation on their Noise Action Plan. Our response stated that it would be beneficial to establish a monitoring scheme to determine aircraft noise levels - bench marking our existing noise levels and potential increases in the future, taking into account the impact of flight arrivals not just departures. We have also raised concerns regarding the noise contours that are currently used and have asked for the accumulative noise impact of Heathrow and London City Airport to be considered and mapped accordingly.
  2. The Noise Team have investigated whether any residents are entitled to the (LCA) Sound Insulation Grant Scheme. LCA have a programme in place to sound insulate properties affected by noise for which eligibility is at lower noise level than at other airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick. They have also indicated that they expect more people to become eligible for the scheme as more aircraft are allowed to operate. However, both Heathrow (LHR) and London City (LCA) Airports have confirmed that residents within Waltham Forest are not eligible for sound insulation based on current noise contours. Both airports confirmed that any additional noise monitoring would only be considered at locations much closer to the airports than Waltham Forest.
  3. Waltham Forest Council has requested membership of the London City Airport Consultation Committee which at the moment is only open to Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Greenwich and Tower Hamlets. The Consultative Committee exists to provide a forum for the discussion of all matters concerning the development or operation of the airport, which have an impact on the users of the airport and on people living and working in the surrounding area including monitoring the environmental impact of the operation of the airport and to advise on operating procedures resulting from such monitoring with a view to minimising noise or other pollution from whatever source.

London City Airport Noise Action Plan - Public Consultation

London City Airport launched a public consultation on its draft noise action plan. The noise action plan has been drafted to manage the issues of noise arising from London City Airport’s operations over the next five years. The consultation finished on 15 January 2010.

» See our response to the London City Airport Noise Action Plan - Public Consultation (27KB PDF file)

There are further airspaces changes proposed over North London, which will be the subject of a second consultation later this year. The Council will consider the implications of and respond to, the consultation in due course.