Category: Reports

HACAN ClearSkies produces reports to influence the aviation debate.

The levels when people get annoyed by noise

SONA, a study the Government commissioned from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Survey of Noise Attitudes 2014, SONA found that people start to get annoyed by aircraft noise at lower levels than previously officially recognised.  This is reflected now in Government policy which acknowledges that people can get annoyed by aircraft noise when it averages out over a 16 hour day at 54 or 51 decibels.  Previously government argued it was 57 decibels. Some people get annoyed at even lower levels. The World Health Organisation report, published in October 2018, argues for the lower levels:
https://hacan.org.uk/?p=4307

The chart above, taken from the study, compares the results of the Government sponsored 1982 ANIS Study with the new SONA study.  SONA found  9% of people are highly annoyed when the average is 54 decibels.  In geographical terms around Heathrow that goes as far as about Clapham to the east and about 16 miles to the west: about 65,000 people in total.  The lower average of 51% extends about as far as Peckham.

The full study  http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP%201506%20FEB17.pdf

HACAN Report on Night Flights

HACAN has commissioned an independent report which suggested that – in the event of a third runway being built – an eight hour night flight regime could become the norm. This study, carried out by AvGen Limited on behalf of HACAN, examines the practicality, if and when a third runway is built at Heathrow, of implementing a full or partial 8-hour night movement curfew from 23:00 to 07:00.  http://hacan.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AvGen-study-v1.1.pdf

Survey reveals Hounslow to be the most overflown borough in London

Research carried out by the campaign group HACAN has revealed that Hounslow to be the most overflown borough in London.  Richmond is in second place but the surprise is that that only three of the top 12 most boroughs are in West London with Waltham Forest being the third most overflown:  http://hacan.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Most-overflown-boroughs-in-London-2016.pdf

Concentrated flight paths bring flood of complaints

We don’t normally post HACAN East press releases on this site but we thought this would be of interest as the new concentrated London City flight paths impact so many people who are also under the Heathrow flight paths

Press Release

29/8/16 for immediate use

 Concentrated flight paths bring a flood of complains

London City Airport’s decision to concentrate all its flights paths earlier this year has resulted in a flood of complaints.  HACAN East, which gives a voice to residents under the flight paths, today launched a short report outlining some of the complaints they received in just one month – read report: HACAN East booklet
John Stewart, chair of the campaign group, said, “We have received dozens of complaints over the last month.  The hot weather has made people particularly aware of the planes.  The concentrated flight paths have brought complaints from many areas for the first time.  The complaints have come from vast swathes of east and south east London.”
One person in south London said, “We have gone from having little or no flights to one every 3 minutes.  Some of us have spent a lifetime trying to get on the housing ladder only for this to happen.”
Another wrote: “I moved to Dagenham from Kingsland Road in Hackney in 2014 because my family & I wanted more peace and quiet; now it’s noisier than living on Kingsland Road in Hackney; we are heart-broken.”
Stewart said that HACAN East has met with the airport who said they ‘have not closed their mind’ to looking again at the concentrated flight paths but will not do so until next year after the Government has issued its forthcoming consultation on national airspace policy.
ENDS

 

 

 

 

Post 2014 Trial Reports

Trials took place in 2014 to test new operational and technical procedures. The trials resulted in a lot of planes flying over certain areas and in a concentrated way. Following complaints from some people in the communities affected that the flight paths had not gone back to their pre-trial patterns, Heathrow paid for work to test this out. The reports found that flight paths had returned to their pretrial routes. The steering group for the work was made up of representatives from the affected communities. The steering group set the brief for the work and appointed the consultants. The areas the report covered were Sunninghill, Bracknell & Wokingham, Englefield Green, Lightwater and Teddington & Twickenham. Although things went back to normal after the trials, the reportdid identify some changes that had taken place incrementally over the 10 years or so between 2006 and 2016. Departures had become more concentrated along the centre-lines of the Noise Preferential Routes. On some routes the height of aircraft increased, but on others the planes were flying lower. It also identified a gradual increase in the number of aircraft on most routes, with the Teddington/Twickenham route seeing a particularly annoying increase of large, intercontinental traffic in the mid/late evening.

You can find the reports here:https://www.heathrow.com/noise/heathrow-community-noise-forum/flight-analysis .

HACAN Launches Major Report on Aircraft Noise and Health

A major new report published today has found that the health of over one million people in the UK is at risk from aircraft noise.   The report, Aircraft Noise and Public Health: The Evidence is Loud and Clear, commissioned by campaign group HACAN and produced by the Aviation Environment Federation, has called on the Government to undertake a complete review of all its polices to ensure that they take full account of the health impacts of aircraft noise.

Here is the report: Aircraft Noise and Public Health the evidence is loud and clear final reportONLINE

And here is the summary: AEF_aircraft noise and health_FINAL3

Key findings:

  • People exposed to high levels of aircraft noise around Heathrow have a 24% higher chance of stroke, 21% higher chance of heart disease, and 14% higher chance of cardiovascular diseases compared to people exposed to low levels of aircraft noise
  • Over 460 schools around Heathrow are exposed to aircraft noise levels that may impair learning and memory
  • In the UK close to 600,000 people are exposed to night-time aircraft noise levels far above WHO recommendations

HACAN chair John Stewart said, “These findings are shocking but not surprising.  Aircraft noise is having a major impact on people’s health.  HACAN is calling on the Government to postpone any decision on new runways until a full health assessment has been carried out on each proposal.  Today HACAN is setting up the Heathrow Health Alliance to monitor progress.”

Launch: Tuesday 12th January, 2 – 3pm, Committee Room 19, House of Commons; Hosted by Tania Mathias MP; Key Speakers:Tim Johnson, Director of AEF, Professor Stephen Stansfeld, Professor of Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London

ENDS

 

The Most Overflown Boroughs in London

An Analysis by HACAN (2009)

 Hounslow is the most overflown borough in London.  Richmond is in second place.  But the big surprise is that Waltham Forest comes third.   Indeed half of the top twelve boroughs are in East or South East London.  In part, this is due to the impact being overflown by both Heathrow and City Airport aircraft.  It is also indicative of the way aircraft noise has become a London-wide problem.

Read the full briefing: Most overflown boroughs in London