Heathrow Consultation Answer Submission FINAL
Heathrow Consultation Answer Submission FINAL
Objectives
This note outlines the answers submitted on the portal. They are based on conversations
with boroughs and data provided by council officers. These answers have been submitted
on the consultation portal on the 4th of March 2019 by Element Energy.
Output
The Heathrow consultation covers six main topics as shown below.
The boroughs of The City of London, Wandsworth and Islington are not part of this
consultation.
The 2nd topic addresses the local factors that should be considered when designing new
air space use procedures. The questions are postcode specific and a collated answer
cannot be provided on the behalf of several boroughs. However, the online questionnaire
allows answers for multiple postcodes; one answer for each borough (mapped as one
unique postcode) will be provided. During the initial conversation, the relevant postcodes
for each borough were agreed. Borough-specific answers to address this topic are
provided in the second section of this note.
1The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, The London Borough of Lambeth, The London
Borough of Lewisham, The London Borough of Southwark, The London Borough of Camden,
Hackney, and City of Westminster
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The Government has to make sure that ‘noise objectives’ are set for certain airports where
noise might be a problem. We have been engaging with the Government on the
development of proposals for a noise objective for Heathrow. Although it is for the
Government to set the noise objective, we are consulting on a proposal for the
Government to consider. Our proposed noise objective is as follows:
To limit and, where possible, reduce the effects of noise on health and quality of life and
deliver regular breaks from scheduled flights for our communities during the day and night.
We need to do this whilst making sure the measures we put in place are proportionate and
cost effective.
• Yes
• No
• I don't know
1b. Please provide any comments you have on our proposals for a noise objective:
The answers provided to this survey are on behalf of 7 Central London Boroughs (The
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, The London Borough of Lambeth, The London
Borough of Lewisham, The London Borough of Southwark, The London Borough of
Camden, Hackney, and City of Westminster), part of the CLSRTP, but excluding The City
of London, Wandsworth and Islington who will submit a separate answer.
The general opinion of the CLSRTP Boroughs was that they have previously opposed the
Heathrow expansion, with some (e.g. Lewisham, Lambeth, Southwark) supporting the
expansion of Gatwick Airport. However, given that it was decided to expand Heathrow
instead, boroughs appreciate that Heathrow is putting in place noise objectives for
Government’s approval, as noise is an important issue for the residents of all boroughs
who may live under the aircraft flight paths. However, boroughs disagree with the
proposed objective as they feel that the proposed objective is too weak and generic and
insufficiently protective of residents. It offers no actual targets or measurable goals, being
significantly less strong than the general aims in the Noise Policy Statement for England.
Boroughs agree with the principle of having a noise objective, however a more robust
proposal is needed. This could be based on a strong commitment to avoid significant
adverse effects, minimise other adverse effects, and seek every possible opportunity to
reduce impacts from noise rather than just a weak unspecific aim to ‘limit’ effects. Specific
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Specific details provided for each borough are provided under the Air space design topic.
1c. Please provide any other comments or suggestions you have on our proposed
approach to developing a package of noise measures for an expanded Heathrow:
• By alternating our runways, we will provide respite for those living closer to the
airport; and
• By alternating our airspace, we will provide respite for those living further away.
Respite means predictable relief from aircraft noise for a period of time. Airspace
alternation is not currently possible but with expansion we have the opportunity to provide
respite for communities further away from the airport that do not receive any respite today.
We want your feedback on two options for the delivery of respite to local communities
using our runway alternation pattern.
• Option 1: A pattern that delivers longer periods of respite, less often - For
example, we could use each operational pattern for a whole day, then move to a
different operating pattern each subsequent day. This would mean that
communities would get a whole day of respite every few days, but have
consecutive days of overflight (during the operational day) with no respite.
• Option 2: A pattern that delivers shorter periods of respite, more often - We could
use each of the four runway operating patterns during the day which would mean
that each community would have 4-5 hours respite every day. It is not possible for
every community to have longer periods of respite, every day.
2a. Would you prefer to have longer periods of respite less frequently (all day on
some days but no relief on other days) or a shorter period of respite (e.g. for 4-5
hours) every day? Please tick one of the following options:
The view of the CLSRTP boroughs is “I don’t know” since such a question would impact
the general population of the boroughs and a preference in terms of the time length and
frequency of the respite periods cannot be established by the local councils. It is thus
advisable that the Heathrow Consultation uses the feedback provided by the residents to
answer this question. However, several councils noted that although they could not
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express any preference, it is generally accepted that any respite implemented must be
predictable, such that residents can plan their daily lives accordingly. Boroughs also
appreciate this question and acknowledge the importance that any future runway and
airspace alternation patterns must be fair and be built on the noise-sharing principle.
It must be noted that some boroughs (Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham) thought that
runways should be alternated several times a day (second option) as this is in line with the
current Heathrow operations (although in the future there will be several additional
patterns and runway swaps per day), to which residents are already accustomed.
2c. Please provide any other comments or suggestions you have on runway and
airspace alternation:
One general common concern across all boroughs and their residents is about the
concentration of aircraft routes in a small section of the airspace, meaning that small
communities are overflown by a very large number of aircraft, particularly in South East
London (Southwark, Lewisham, and Lambeth) during the initial approach phase, when the
aircraft are turning towards Heathrow. This is seen unfair for the residents, who demand
that the air routes are revised, covering a wider range of airspace and providing respite
and relief to the affected communities. Measures to widen the air corridors and alternate
their usage should be implemented as part of the airspace alternation process.
Our work so far demonstrates that if we managed the preference with the objective of
minimising the total number of people affected by noise, this would mean requiring aircraft
to operate following on westerly operations during the day and easterly operations at night,
where there is a choice.
However, we also acknowledge that people value breaks from a certain operating
direction, and would like us to avoid extended periods where Heathrow flight paths overlap
with routes from other airports. This is why we are considering a managed preference so
that we could respond to extended periods of operations in one direction by intervening to
operate in the other direction to provide relief.
3a. Should we continue to prefer westerly operations during the day and easterly
operations at night to reduce the total number of people affected by noise?
• Yes
• No
• I don't know
In general, the CLSRTP boroughs agree with the idea of making noise exposure fair and
with noise sharing mechanisms highlighted in the proposed “Managed Preference”
approach, however given their location East of the airport, boroughs feel like they would
rather avoid westerly operations (i.e. flights over Central London) if possible and when
wind permits. However, boroughs recognise that other communities, closer to the airport,
would be more affected by operations in any directional preference, and thus the
consultation should take into account the whole set of responses to this questionnaire.
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In general, the CLSRTP boroughs agree that residents should be exposed to noise in a
fair way. Thus, providing relief to local communities affected by prolonged periods of
operating in one direction is in line with consensus. However, it is unclear how often such
an intervention would be implemented and where the people included in the “this means
slightly increasing the number of people affected by noise” would be geographically
located. More clarity in further documents would be welcomed, as the consultation does
not provide enough information, preventing a more detailed answer to this question.
3e. Please provide any other comments or suggestions you have on directional
preference:
Southwark put forward a preference for Easterly operations before 7am where possible in
order to reduce noise from early morning arrivals over densely populated South London.
The boroughs of Lewisham and Southwark pointed out that the implemented managed
preference is promising to address the interaction of Heathrow traffic flow with that of other
London airports, notably London City Airport (LCY), which is known to have negative
impacts on their residents. As an example, Forest Hill residents within Lewisham complain
of constant noise levels from aircraft flying to low on approach to LCY as they are forced to
do so due to passing traffic (at higher flight levels) inbound to Heathrow. Other areas
negatively impacted by LCY aircraft, include: the Brockley and Telegraph Hill areas within
Lewisham and Dulwich, Camberwell, Surrey Quays, Canada Water, and the Rotherhithe
Areas, all located in Southwark
Although the consultation text is unclear about the implemented measures to reduce noise
impacts from other traffic flows, Boroughs are recommending that the managed operations
will determine Heathrow arrivals to fly higher than currently around South East London,
thus allowing LCY-bound aircraft not to overfly the neighbourhood at such low altitudes.
A report pointing out the issue was published as part of the HACAN project and can be
found here: https://hacan.org.uk/4422-2/
We still need to maintain the same number of pre-6am arrivals as we currently have, but
our aim is to start our operation later than today. This will mean we need to narrow the
window within which these flights land.
We want to know whether you would prefer us to use one runway for scheduled arrivals
from 5.30am (runway time of 5.15am - affecting fewer people), or two runways for
scheduled arrivals from the slightly later time of 5.45am (runway time of 5.30am - affecting
more people than the previous option).
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4a. To help inform our consideration of the options 2, we want to know whether you
would prefer for us to:
• Option 1 - Use one runway for scheduled arrivals from 5.30am (runway time
5.15am)
• Option 2 - Use two runways for scheduled arrivals from 5.45am (runway time
5.30am)
• I don't know
The views of the CLSRTP boroughs on this question are widespread and it is
recommended that the Heathrow consultation follows the feedback provided by the
residents.
Several local views are presented below, but the general consensus is that both options
are not good enough, as neither provides enough respite to residents. A total 8-hour night
flight ban (23.00-07.00) should be implemented, and if such a ban is not possible,
boroughs would wish to delay the earliest arrivals for as long as possible.
For any period and timings when night flights are permitted, a total ban should be imposed
on all but the quietest aircraft so that it is highly restrictive which types of aircraft can land
in the night period.
Regarding the answers to the question, on one hand, boroughs under the final approach
path, when the aircraft is aligned with the runway heading feel like the first option would be
better since residents under the approach path of one runway would get a respite 2 out of
3 days and believe that a 15 min difference would not make a significant difference.
On the other hand, Lewisham, Southwark, and Lambeth (boroughs over which the aircraft
turn before establishing on the final approach path) are directly affected by aircraft
regardless which and how many runways are operated at any given time, since the same
turning procedure is used by multiple runways. As a result, these boroughs prefer the
second option as this would give 15 additional minutes of sleep to their residents before
the potential disturbance from overflying aircraft. This would also mean that the issues
associated with the disturbance will not be concentrated along one runway. In addition,
morning arrival routes, especially during the initial approach, should be dispersed as much
as possible, providing respite to communities.
The borough of Hackney have not expressed any view on this question, however they
noted they would follow the general consensus of the group.
4c. Please provide any other comments or suggestions you might have on early
morning arrivals:
Several boroughs also expressed views that morning arrivals would not be preferred at all.
Arrivals before 6am over South London are considered to have an unreasonable impact
on residents. However, since this is not part of the Heathrow proposal, it is viewed that
Heathrow should require airlines to operate quieter and newer aircraft for morning arrivals.
In addition, boroughs proposed that since the air traffic is not that congested in the early
mornings, Heathrow could have in place special procedures in which holding traffic (before
being allowed to commence the final approach) would be held in stacks at a different
2 Please note the exact times are subject to further evaluation of the options.
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location away from populated areas. At the same time, morning procedures could involve
higher overfly altitudes and steeper final approach descents (if allowed by aircraft
performance and safety standards) such that the impact to the sleeping population is
minimised. For any period and timings when night flights are permitted, a total ban should
be imposed on all but the quietest aircraft so that it is highly restrictive which types of
aircraft can land in the night period.
During the night period (outside of the proposed scheduled night flight ban) we are looking
to further encourage the use of the quietest types of aircraft with the following measures:
5a. Please provide any comments or suggestions on how we should encourage the
use of the quietest type of aircraft at night (outside the proposed scheduled night
flight ban):
In addition to the currently implemented lower landing fees, Heathrow could expand this
strategy more aggressively to late night departures and morning arrivals. During these
periods, the fees for quieter aircraft would be significantly lower than during the day, whilst
noisy aircraft would face elevated fees compared to day levels. Alternatively, an outright
ban on noisy aircraft or a much-enhanced quota count system would be preferred at night.
5b. Please provide any other comments you have on night flights and restrictions:
Boroughs suggested that alternative departure routes for flights operating during the
recovery period should be implemented, with the aim to avoid noise exposure to densely
populated areas. However, if this cannot be implemented, future airspace designs should
avoid over-concentrating flight paths over small geographic areas and disperse flight
routes.
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The description of this section of the questionaire and the mapping tool is provided below.
Element Energy encouraged boroughs to try the online mapping tool and determine if any
additional factors should be included in the submited answer.
The postcode map tool below presents the geographic areas within which flight paths
could be positioned in the future – both for expansion, and to make better use of our
existing runways, through use of Independent Parallel Approaches (IPA). These areas are
known as design envelopes.
Once you have entered a postcode or area of interest to you, the design envelope(s)
which your location falls within will be presented, along with information on the number,
height and noise of potential flights over this area, to give you an understanding of the
potential impact of flights.
To help us design new flight paths we want to know whether there are any sites or
locations that you think require special consideration by us in determining where future
flight paths should be.
Please describe the special characteristics of these locations, stating why they would be
sensitive to flights overhead. For example, this could be because they would be sensitive
to noise or visual impacts associated with flights overhead.
You may be in more than one design envelope. Where this is the case the airspace design
will seek to ensure flight paths within different envelopes would not be in use over the
same area at the same time. This means that the ‘number of flights’ figure given alongside
each design envelope should be considered individually and not added together, unless
stated otherwise.
What sites or local factors should we be aware of in your area (or other area of interest to
you), when designing flight paths for an expanded three-runway Heathrow?
What sites or local factors should we be aware of in your area (or other area of interest to
you), when designing new arrival flight paths to make better use of our existing two
runways?
The table below shows the number of flights above 65 decibels (60dB is the noise intensity
of a conversation) that will be overflying the postcode within an hour (during operation
hours, not at night). A1-A4, D1-D2, and I1-I2 refer to future airspace design envelopes
related to arrivals, departures, and the independent parallel approach procedures. Note
that not all envelopes apply to the same geographic location.
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0 indicates there are overflying aircraft but below the 65 dB level - indicates airspace envelope not applicable to borough
For each borough, the response to the questions regarding local factors are given below.
Increasing the number of flights over London will affect Camden residents although it
appears to a lesser extent than some other London Boroughs. Although aircraft noise is
not currently an issue of concern in Camden, as a council we expect that Heathrow and
other airports will implement robust mitigation measures. These measures should take into
account the latest research on aircraft noise effects on health and should be consulted
with local communities. We also would like to see the introduction of strict rules and
penalties for any outstanding noise emissions.
• An expanded Heathrow airport will undermine London’s ability to meet legal air
quality limits and have significant consequences for people’s health.
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The borough maintains its positions and believes the consultation materials provided do
not allow a meaningful response as the mapping tool does not provide a comparison to
today’s noise levels.
Particularly, the residents of Forest Hill (SE23) have been complaining of elevated noise
levels due to overflying aircraft and have produced a comprehensive report through
HACCAN ( https://hacan.org.uk/4422-2/ ). The general complaints relate to Heathrow
(LHR)-bound aircraft flying too low, forcing aircraft bound for London City Airport (LCY) to
fly even lower, at around 2,000 feet above their houses. As a result, any future redesign of
the airspace should address this issue by increasing the altitude at which LHR-bound
aircraft fly such that flights for LCY can fly higher, reducing the noise impacts to the
neighbourhood. At the same time, due to current flights approaching Heathrow, traffic for
LCY is not only forced to fly lower but also in a rather narrow corridor, concentrating flights
over a few houses only. Future airspace designs should allow a wider geographic spread
of overflying aircraft (regardless of their destination) by implementing several flight paths
that would help share noise in the area and provide relief for the affected residents. As a
result, London City Airport and Heathrow should work together on flight path planning, to
prioritise and jointly provide noise reduction and respite to those residents currently taking
an unfair burden of their joint aircraft noise. These issues aren’t just limited to the Forest
Hill area, as residents in the north of the borough (particularly Brockley and Telegraph Hill
area) have also raised similar issues, also around early morning arrivals, with two recent
public meetings held with the MP for Lewisham Deptford.
In addition, in 2013 there was a lot of public concern from the residents of Brockley (SE4)
after Heathrow piloted their early respite scheme. It increased the number of aircraft over
Brockley significantly causing significant disturbance: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
england-london-23692965 . Although such a flight scheme was never implemented,
Heathrow should be aware of this previous issue when designing new procedures that
may negatively impact the residents of Brockley.
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sharing and provide respite to local communities over which flight paths are currently
concentrated .
The community feel that the mapping tool provides no mentions of respite or relief,
believing that that multiple flight paths will be concentrated over a narrow corridor, with
very fine-grained distances and with no lateral leeway between different flight paths. They
are concerned that this will lead to additional noise from adjacent flight paths that will be
operating in parallel for arrivals to the two runways. As a result, the borough feels that in
some circumstances a wide distribution of flight paths, covering a larger geographic area,
may mitigate this. In previous consultations, Southwark Council opposed the proposal to
expand Heathrow airport on the basis that the expansion is not environmentally
sustainable and will be detrimental to the environment of their residents and residents
across south and west London. Although the borough still holds their previous firm position
against expansion, in the event that the 3rd runway is approved, the Council considers it is
essential that any concentration of future flight paths that follows from the airspace change
process should allow for predictable respite periods for the areas over-flown. Furthermore,
any concentration of flight paths should clearly minimise significant and other adverse
effects from aircraft noise and provide clear overall benefit to total community aircraft noise
exposure. Finally, the airspace change process should allow for meaningful community
influence, including allowing for dispersal of flight paths where this is desired by the
affected communities, especially away from communities currently significantly affected by
flight path concentrations. e.g.
Camberwell area)
As a general principle, the Borough would wish to see avoidance of overflight of all
schools, hospitals and public parks during the daytimes and all hospitals at night.
In general, the borough received no noise complaints related to airlines (with the main
source of concern being related to overflying helicopters). However, the borough is aware
of a resident group in the Paddington area that has expressed concerns about the
proposed airspace plans .
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4 Appendix
Are you responding on behalf of an organisation or group? By answering yes, you
are also confirming that you have authorisation to respond on behalf of the
organisation.
Yes
No
If yes, please specify the name of your organisation/group and a brief description of
its role and membership:
The answers included in this questionnaire have been submitted on behalf of the Central
London Sub-Regional Transport Partnership (CLSRTP) and were based on the collective
feedback from central London’s seven local authorities (The Royal Borough of Kensington
and Chelsea, The London Borough of Lambeth, The London Borough of Lewisham, The
London Borough of Southwark, The London Borough of Camden, Hackney, and City of
Westminster).
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