New short HACAN report giving a flavour of the stress caused to thousands of Londoners from Heathrow aircraft noise
HACAN (the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) has just released a short report on reactions to noise by Londoners who are over-flown. It is called “A Summer of Noise – a snap-shot of the impact of aircraft noise on Londoners… in their own words” and is a collection of some of the despairing emails that Hacan has received, over the summer. There are always more complaints about aircraft noise in summer than in winter, as people spend more time outside. There is also more stress caused by night flight noise, as on warm nights, people want to sleep with the windows open. The sad, despairing and angry emails show noise is a real issue for very many people, and night noise from aircraft remains a big concern. It also emerges that in very hot weather it is slightly more difficult for planes to take off (the air is a bit less dense, so the engine has to work harder) and this means that some areas get more noise. It is also clear that the cluster of complaints from particular areas may reflect the fact that some flight paths seem to be becoming more concentrated.
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HACAN (the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) has just released a short report on reactions to noise by Londoners who are over-flown.
“A Summer of Noise – a snap-shot of the impact of aircraft noise on Londoners… in their own words” (5 Pages)
It is a collection of some of the despairing emails that Hacan has received, over the summer. There are always more complaints about aircraft noise in summer than in winter, as people spend more time outside. There is also more stress caused by night flight noise, as on warm nights, people want to sleep with the windows open.
There are some sad and troubling examples in the report, a few of which are copied below.
HACAN concludes that there is some pattern in the complaints it receives on aircraft noise.
Night noise from aircraft remains a big concern for a lot of people.
In addition to the difference between summer and winter, it seems that in very hot weather it is slightly more difficult for planes to take off (the air is a bit less dense, so the engine has to work harder) and this means that in areas like Hanwell, relatively close to the airport and under a take-off route, can experience a lot more noise.
It is also clear that the cluster of complaints from particular areas may reflect the fact that flight paths seem to be becoming more concentrated. HACAN is discussing the apparent concentration of flights with Heathrow Airport and National Air Traffic Control.
The report is at http://www.hacan.org.uk/resources/reports/living.under.the.heathrow.flight.path.today.pdf
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Below are just four of the emails from the report:
There’s definitely been a change which has caused more planes to route over
Brockley. I bought a house in September 2012 and it wasn’t like this then. We have
planes coming in from the east and also now a constant stream of planes coming up
from the south, all of which seem to regard Brockley as a sort of aerial T-junction
where they turn to join the planes heading west over Brockley to Heathrow. It’s like
they are all aiming for Brockley station. Together, this has resulted in an almost
constant stream of planes.
I’m a 9 year old girl who can’t get to sleep at night because you send
planes every minute or two of the day over our house. I only fall asleep
after 23:30 because they fly really low and they are very loud. I have
problems focusing on my work at school and have a violin concert
coming up next Wednesday. My mum has been in touch with you many
times asking you not to be so cruel to us but you don’t help us or care
about our health. If you had children of your own you would understand.
Why are you doing this to us? We have never been bad to you.
I have lived in Lee since March 2009 and enjoyed living a peaceful life for about 4
years. In recent months it started to turn from bliss to devastation. Aircraft noise and
frequency of flights (some every minute) over my house has increased 100 fold. I am
not sure what it is related to, Southend, City, Heathrow or other airports but would
like to know in order to object , find out about developments and perhaps
consider moving…Please advise.
I wondered if you can help? I live in Battersea and we’ve been having terrible
problems with aircraft noise – daily it starts before 4.30am, continues non-stop
through the day, past 11.30pm. There is no alteration in the route or schedule. I’ve contacted the BAA 3 times, my MP and wondered if there is anything else I can do? We’re just hardworking Londoners, but exhausted all the time and have now had enough.
… and there are many more ….
“A Summer of Noise – a snap-shot of the impact of aircraft noise on Londoners… in their own words” (5 Pages)
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