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Compensation for Heathrow blight

Just a reminder that the roadshow exhibition to accompany the "consultation" that Heathrow is carrying out on the compensation package to accompany a possible expansion with a third runway is at St. Paul's Church today, Tuesday 30th September 14:00 - 21:00.http://your.heathrow.com/consultation/

Tim Henderson ● 3965d8 Comments

I was surprised to find that Heathrow have reported to the Airports Commission on each of the exhibition/consultation events that were held.The report on the Brentford event said :HELP SHAPE HEATHROW’S PROPOSALS FOR PROPERTY AND NOISE COMPENSATIONREPORT ON PUBLIC CONSULTATION120Brentford public exhibitionSt Paul's ChurchSt Paul’s RoadBrentfordTW8 0PNTuesday 30th September, 14:00-21:00Attendance: 78The Brentford exhibition was characterised by peaks and troughs in attendance. There was a distinctdivide in opinion between residents who currently suffer from existing noise, and those who areunaffected by it.The prevailing question from all residents at the exhibition was “how is this going to affect me”, with anumber of attendees concerned that noise was going to get worse.Attendees were dubious about any evidence that Heathrow will get quieter. The argument from residentswas that if there were more planes, there would be more noise, and this was a widespread concern. Veryfew people engaged with the idea that the average noise level will reduce.For those already affected by noise, there was some disgruntlement at the current compensation schemeson offer. Several residents were angry about the double glazing that had been installed in their homes.One of the most prominent issues was around runway alternation. With planes flying over the exhibitionhall from 3pm onwards, it was obvious that periods of respite were important for Brentford residents.Many wanted to know how this would work and there was some anxiety that there were not moreconcrete plans for alternation already proposed.Many residents commented that they thought there was a lack of transparency from Heathrow, and thatif the airport were more honest with them – particularly about flights between midnight and 5am, theywould be more receptive to the airport’s plans.Finally, several residents raised the issue of pollution and climate change associated with a new runway.Main issues• Currently, planes fly over Brentford, so the main concern was that noise was going to get worse.• Alternation is a very important consideration for Brentford residents, who are aware of, andappreciate, the respite.• There was widespread concern about the level of pollution locally and what Heathrow weregoing to do to lower this.• Many residents simply refused to trust the argument that noise was going to improve, andinsisted that more planes would mean more noise and an increase in disturbance.• A minority of residents were often unwilling to engage in the consultation regardingcompensation because they felt that the current offer from Heathrow was insufficient and anyfurther compensation would also be poor.• The majority of residents either took a form home, or filled in the consultation document at theevent.page 127 of 457 of the pdf unzipped fromhttp://your.heathrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/02-Heathrow-Airport-Ltd-Consultation-Response-A4-Appendices-final.zip

Tim Henderson ● 3730d

> Perhaps we should get access to some noise monitoring equipment. I'm sure some aircraft would fail the test.You can see the decibel value for any takeoff on the airport's Webtrak system.  That's measured at the noise monitoring point, of course, but it will give you a good idea of which are flights are the noisiest ones.Or you could ask the airport to do a "Community Noise Report", which involves putting a mobile noise monitor in the neighbourhood for 3 months.

Dave Robertson ● 3965d

Yes, there are apps for smart phones like Widenoise which featured inhttp://www.brentfordtw8.com/info/heathrow005.htmHowever, the phones aren't calibrated to the international standards which the Court would probably require. And, as far as I know, the only noise limit is the requirement on departures for planes passing the monitoring points (approx 6.5km from the start of the take-off roll) to be less than 94 dBA Lmax. As Heston is a fair bit beyond the 6.5km point I don't think our measurements would do for the "test" - but I still think that transparent monitoring to show the severity and frequency of the problem in more locations is worthwhile.

Tim Henderson ● 3965d

Yes those easterly take-offs have been a right pain. Perhaps we should get access to some noise monitoring equipment. I'm sure some aircraft would fail the test.Wonder if there is a phone app.?

Jim Lawes ● 3965d

> Btw, I'm in central Ealing and I feel there are more flights taking off than say a year ago.Correct.  As Tim explained, there have been more periods then normal recently where the wind has meant easterly takeoffs over West London.  Instead of the long-term average of about 30% easterly movements, the figure for September has been over 50%, so you're seeing nearly double the number of takeoffs compared to a typical month.

Dave Robertson ● 3965d

Thanks for the interesting info.  Btw, I'm in central Ealing and I feel there are more flights taking off than say a year ago.

Gerry Tan ● 3965d

I guess it depends where you are !There has been quite a prolonged spell of easterlies recently which will have meant regular take-offs over Ealing and Twickenham (and fewer landings over Kew/Brentford/Isleworth).The night-time runway refurbishment of the northern runway has meant that for most of the summer the early morning 0430 flights have all been landing on the southern runway. But with this morning's A380 at 0444, I noticed that they must have now finished!The overall number of flights is still capped at 480,000 ATMs a year so there will be no big change in around 1300 flights a day. However there are plans to re-organise airspace and concentrate flights into narrower pathways (it is one of the ways Heathrow can claim that fewer people will be overflown with an extra runway) and Teddington (and Ascot)is currently suffering the fallout from this as preparatory trials are being carried out.

Tim Henderson ● 3965d

Thanks for the reminder.On the subject of Heathrow...is it my imagination that I feel there are many more flights flying nearby than there used to be?  Or is it that the goodish weather meant that we've been out in our gardens more this year?

Gerry Tan ● 3965d