Aircraft Noise over SE23 [2019]

I have much sympathy for you and for everyone whose enjoyment of their homes is blighted by aircraft noise. Early morning, before 6.30am planes and late night ones after 10.30 are from Heathrow. Heathrow want to expand massively with the 3rd runway. To learn more about both Heathrow and London City expansions and what we can do about them there are public meetings - one at Kennington on Wed 4 Sept mentioned above in this thread for example.

Heathrow has a consultation open now, and people can write to support or object. The consultation is very complex, and would need most of us to take half a day to work out what is going on and what to say. But one easy way, right now, to object to this is to follow the advice of the London Assembly, which I reproduce here together with their article that it comes from.

copy and paste the below paragraph and send to: feedback@heathrowconsultation.com ](mailto: feedback@heathrowconsultation.com)

Heathrow expansion fundamentally goes against the UK’s commitment to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality in the capital.

It’s going to make air pollution worse, increase carbon emissions and increase noise, and we don’t support.

I stand with hundreds of others calling for it to be CANCELLED. http://bit.ly/5ReasonsForNoHeathrow

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Our local MP Ellie Reeves asked for an emergency parliamentary debate on LCY’s expansion plans in Parliament today. The pompous response from the Leader of the House Jacob Rees Mogg demonstrated that he is far more interested in the “convenience” of City Airport and doesn’t care two hoots for the thousands of plebs that live under its concentrated flight paths. I doubt many planes fly over his castle, maybe a few spitfires or the red arrows… :roll_eyes:

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I am glad to see this raised, although the issue of concentrated flight paths was not alluded to.

Fantastic support and initiative from Ellie Reeves. After our meeting with her not long ago, she could hardly support all the effort we have made on behalf of the Forest Hill Society more than by asking in the House of Commons for a Parliamentary debate. That, plus she has endorsed the Society response to the London City Airport masterplan consultation by adding a statement of support. I am also made up with the support from our Forest Hill ward councillors and other Lewisham councillors including Cabinet member Sophie McGeevor who attended the City Airport Consultative committee meeting with me last week, putting a number of extremely critical questions to the airport. Also Len Duvall our London Assembly member who has met with us on a number of occasions. As many will have found, Airports are able to brush off individual complaints. It is harder for them to ignore consistent pressure from our elected representatives.

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Still time to respond to London City Airports expansion Masterplan. The impact will be to treble their aircraft numbers flying low over SE London compared to 2017 levels. Recent noise measurements show that their ‘new generation’ aircraft are not perceptibly quieter over SE London than the current ones.

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Following local interest in the expansive plans of London City and Heathrow Airports, HACAN, the campaigning group is arranging a local meeting for Forest Hill and Catford on 31 Oct.

Many will know that the Forest Hill Society has been very active on the issues, gaining support from the Council and from our MP Ellie Reeves. We have worked with other resident groups from the Corbett Estate in Catford, who have secured strong support from their MP Janet Daby. And we have also worked closely with the Dulwich Society, and the Tewkesbury Lodge Residents Association providing information and briefings for their members too.

John Stewart from HACAN says:-
a fair number of people have said that they are interested in getting more active in their local areas. I have therefore set up a series of local meetings. They are not public meetings as such (though nobody will be turned away). Their purpose is to allow our supporters to meet fellow supporters in their area and see if there is the appetite to be active locally.

The meetings I have set up are as follows:

16th October: Eltham – St Mary’s Community Centre, 180 Eltham High St, SE9 1BY, 7.30-9pm (aimed at our supporters in the boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich).

22nd October: Dulwich/Herne Hill – Herne Hill Methodist Church, 155 Half Moon Lane, SE 24 9TS, 7.30 -9pm (aimed at people in Dulwich and Herne Hill)

23rd October: Colliers Row/Romford – North Romford Community Centre, Clockhouse Lane, Colliers Row, RM5 3QJ,7.30-9pm (aimed at people in Colliers Row, Romford and Havering)

24th October: Leytonstone –St Johns Church, High Rd, Leytonstone, E11 1HH,7.30 -9pm (aimed at people in Leyton and Leytonstone)

28th October: Wanstead –Wanstead Friends Meeting House, Bush Road, Wanstead, E11 3AU, 7.30 -9pm (aimed at people in Wanstead and South Woodford)

29th October: Oval – Kennington Park Community Centre, Harleyford St, Oval, SE11 5SY, 7.30 -9pm (aimed at people in Vauxhall, Oval, Stockwell and Brixton)

30th October: Mile End – Queen Mary’s University, Mile End Rd, E1 4NS, 7.30 – 9pm (aimed at people in Tower Hamlets and Newham)

31st October : Catford –St Lawrence Church, 37 Bromley Rd, Catford, SE6 2TS, 7.30 -9pm (aimed at people in Catford and Forest Hill).

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I’m glad she brought it up as its something i feel strongly about. However you’ve clearly misrepresented him as he didn’t actually say that!

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Well we can agree to disagree. I think beginning an answer to a question about the expansion of City airport increasing levels of noise and air pollution at a time of climate emergency and requesting an urgent government debate on the matter with the words, “City Airport is a fantastic airport and very convenient to use…” and thereafter not committing to an urgent debate on the issue but simply listing the various ways MPs can try and get issues heard, strongly suggests that JRM’s sympathies are likely to be with the airport rather than those affected by its operations. You obviously have a different interpretation. I imagine each of our opinions are likely to be informed by our existing views on JRM’s integrity and character, but this isn’t the place for that discussion.

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last chance - with just a few days to go until the expansion Masterplan consultation for London City airport closes on 18 October, here is the full response setting out reasons to oppose the expansion, made on behalf of the Forest Hill Society. Please feel free to cut, paste or endorse in a quick email to the airport at consultation@londoncityairport.com.
Or support the airport’s expansion if that’s your thing!

Very noisy this evening, even with all windows closed.

As i said, on this topic we are on the same side and happy to agree to disagree, but wiser to just avoid using emotive words such as pompous, plebs etc and sticking to the facts - he said its not urgent and to bring it up in normal channels in the next session, which however annoying is reasonable.

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I think there are times the man in question shows a high level of pomposity… it is his brand… but in this circumstance you are correct sir.

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Good reply Luke.

Let’s please keep this topic on the main focus of disucssion, noting that se23.life is a politically neutral forum as per the guidelines here: /se23.life/faq#politics

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just a reminder that John Stewart, Chair of HACAN East, the aircraft noise campaign group has invited interested local residents to this meeting to discuss next options in the campaign to stop London City Airport expansion.

The expansion Masterplan consultation ended with a bang last week, when the Mayor of London weighed in with multiple reasons why he could not support their plans. He joined most of the 13 overflown London Boroughs in his opposition, including Lewisham, Tower Hamlets, and Newham, the Airport’s planning authority. He included in his response several of the points about noise and flight paths that the Forest Hill Society argued for in a meeting with his senior transport advisors a couple of months ago.

A decent summary from AirportWatch reproduced below:-
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has warned London City Airport that “unfettered growth is not an option” as he criticised its plans for expansion. He said residents must have a break from plane noise, and the airport should take its air pollution and environmental responsibilities more seriously. The airport, in a densely populated area of east London, is increasingly used for holiday travel – not business – and it wants to increase the current cap of 111,000 flights/year to 137,000 by 2030 and to 151,000 by 2035. It hopes for 5 million passengers this year, but wants up to 6.5 million per year. The Mayor said the current plans “would not be in the interest of Londoners”. He said noise from planes was a “fundamental issue” as changes to flight paths three years ago meant some areas were being flown over too often. Also that breaks from flights – overnight, and for 24 hours from lunchtime on Saturday – “must not be eroded” and the airport should use new technology to give residents more relief, not just to maximise profits. He said the airport mus t consider CO2 emissions from flights in its carbon reduction plans, as its current target of “net zero emissions by 2050 “does not include flights – only airport terminals, vehicles, and other ground operations.
http://www.airportwatch.org.uk/

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London City Airport branded a ‘noisy neighbour’ in this critical summary by Private Eye.

“Boris Johnson unveils plan to increase number of flights …”

As regards Heathrow, I predict we will see a “mid-air U-turn” as he did for London City Airport

Just flew out of City. If they’re getting more flights they need a bigger terminal. Rammed at checkin and departures, especially with delays due to weather.

I think they are busily building one, extending out over the former docks.

Last week, London City airport executives told their own consultative committee in a publicly open meeting that they had received 1800 responses to their expansion plan consultation, about 50/50 for and against. It was pointed out to them that this appeared to ignore (something we have been told by airport staff) some 4000 ‘Back the Ban’ postcards with names, signature and postcodes objecting to further flight numbers or any extension to weekend flying. The airport staff concerned became quite flustered and angry and dismissed these responses as generic campaigning material. That is the kind of organisation we are dealing with.

They are now ‘analysing’ the responses, but there is no indication that they include the postcard responses or do this in a fair or transparent way, and they look hell bent on expanding whatever this sham community consultation outcome. Next up will be a report on the consultation written by the airport, probably issued simultaneously with a planning application to Newham. Anyone with a little knowledge of research who looked at the consultation questions will have noted that they included leading, conditional and assumptive questions. They are in such a hurry to push this all through that they also failed to run the consultation questions by their own consultative committee- who might have been able to point out the failings.

I and a few others, particularly through campaign group HACAN East, are trying to encourage the consultative committee to push the airport and ensure transparency and fair play in this process - while continuing pressure on noise and climate emergency grounds.

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We are also collaborating with XR, who are also encouraging the Canadian owners to have a think about what they are doing.

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Continues: Aircraft Noise over SE23 (2020)