Heathrow have finally published their latest Noise Action Plan which sets out their plans for managing and reducing noise over the next five years – apart from reducing the number of aircraft flying over communities!
The full report is below and you can find the Annexes on their website HERE which includes responses to their 2023 consultation, the outcomes from the previous NAP and their predicted forecasts for 2026.
The CAA has this week (30th October) ruled that Heathrow’s airspace change proposals cannot progress to the next stage (of the CAP1616 process) because they took a different approach to the one they’d engaged on and stakeholders were not given an opportunity to provide feedback!
Heathrow will be able to resubmit their proposals for approval to the next stage once they can satisfy the criteria. However, this is likely to add a further delay to the progress being made with a public consultation on flight path options not expected until 2025.
Following the DfT launch of their consultation on a new night noise objective HACAN appeared on BBC Radio Surrey and BBC Radio Berkshire on 12th April 2023 to share our views on the impact of night flights.
Heathrow have published their new Noise Action Plan for consultation. You can find out more details here.
Consequently, we’ve produced a response to help you raise your concerns about Heathrow’s plans.
The purpose of the airspace change masterplan is to identify which UK airspace design changes need to be developed to achieve the benefits of airspace modernisation and then set out a single coordinated implementation plan to deliver those benefits. ACOG is taking an iterative approach to developing the masterplan and will be undertaking public engagement exercises this year. You can find out more about ACOG and its plans on its website at www.acog.aero.
This iteration of the masterplan identifies which airspace change proposals (ACPs) that are part of the masterplan will need to move forward together in a co-ordinated manner. It also describes the nature of potential interactions between those different ACPs. The masterplan does not contain the details of specific proposals or proposed flightpaths.
The airspace changes identified within the masterplan will have to be considered through the CAA’s separate evidence based and engagement led airspace change process, known as CAP 1616. The acceptance of the second iteration means that relevant airspace change sponsors can now progress towards a CAP1616 Stage 2 gateway assessment, where the CAA must be satisfied that sponsors have followed the process correctly before they can move to the next stage in the process.
Following the announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport that ICCAN was to be abolished, a cross-party group of 13 MPs and Peers have written to Grant Shapps setting out the continued need for a strong independent voice to reflect community concerns about aviation noise.
You can read the letter in full here below.
It was pleasure to welcome over 50 members to our in-person AGM this past Thursday.
We were delighted to be joined by Sarah Olney MP who provided an excellent speech highlighting her thoughts on the next steps in the campaign against Heathrow expansion, her recent Parliamentary activities on aviation and her commitment to ensuring that the Government take meaningful action on aircraft noise following the abolition of ICCAN.
It was also fitting for members to finally be able to say thank you to our former Chair John Stewart for his efforts over the previous 20 years.
We are delighted to announce that Sarah Onley MP (Lib Dem, Richmond Park) will be the keynote speaker for our AGM.
