Dublin Airport may buy 40 homes, already badly affected by noise, in bid to step up 2nd runway plans
Dublin airport was given consent for a 2nd runway in 2007, but due to the recession it was not started. There are now plans to start work in 2017, for completion in 2020, though as much has changed in the years since 2007 on the aviation market, questions are asked about whether the original consent should still be valid. Due to the inevitably increased noise from the 2nd runway, it is likely that around 40 houses (mainly in the St Margaret’s area 2-3km from the airport) would be bought by the airport, and negotiations are planned. Triple glazed window insulation will probably also be suggested for hundreds of other properties including schools. A spokeswoman for the St Margaret’s Concerned Residents Group said the affected 30 home owners in her association are devastated but have no choice. The airport has assessed the level of noise necessitating house purchase based on 90 days of the airport’s busiest months from June to September. Residents, some of whom have been in the area for three generations, fear that a 2nd runway, with increasing frequency, growth in long haul services and more larger aircraft Dublin would compound the noise problem.
.
Tweet
Comments from a resident affected by Dublin airport noise:
“The residents can’t listen to the news (on the TV). They have to turn
the volume up … Nobody is outside walking or just out. That was a
vibrant community. Previously, people would be out with the dog or
in their garden. That does not happen. …. It is very negative … If you
are having a conversation with someone at the gate you have to stop.
You are talking about every couple of minutes, but it’s particularly in
the summer time.”
Dublin flight path residents tell of noise exposure as second runway talks due
8.4.2016 (Belfast Telegraph)
Talks are planned on limiting the noise impact of a second runway at Dublin Airport.
People living under flight paths at Dublin Airport have revealed their daily nightmare as negotiations are planned on limiting the noise impact of a second runway.
Aviation chiefs have offered to buy 40 homes, believed to be in the St Margaret’s area 2-3km from the airport, ahead of the planned 320 million euro expansion in 2020.
While that deal is expected to stay on the table for a year, insulation, potentially involving triple glazed windows, will also be suggested for hundreds of other properties including schools. [This, of course, is not effective if you want to have windows open, or if you want to use your garden, or be outside. AW comment].
Helena Merriman, spokeswoman with the St Margaret’s Concerned Residents Group who has lived in the area for 40 years, said the 30 home owners in her association are devastated but have no choice.
“We are devastated that our homes are affected but we have to work with the airport and the planning authorities to come to an agreement,” she said.
“You can’t stop progress.”
Aviation chiefs identified houses for purchase by assessing exposure to noise from planes over 90 days of the airport’s busiest months from June to September.
Some of the homes worst affected by current flight paths are the Newtown Cottages in St Margaret’s.
“Under the existing runway and flight path, if you stand there you can’t have a conversation in your garden,” she said.
“The residents can’t listen to the news. They have to turn the volume up.
“Nobody is outside walking or just out. That was a vibrant community. Previously, people would be out with the dog or in their garden. That does not happen.
“It is very negative.
“If you are having a conversation with someone at the gate you have to stop. You are talking about every couple of minutes, but it’s particularly in the summer time.”
Residents, some of whom have been in the area for three generations, fear that a second flight path, increasing frequency, growth in long haul services and the number of larger aircraft flying in and out of Dublin would compound the problem.
“We are not 100% sure of that at the moment,” Ms Merriman said.
Dublin Airport wants to challenge two conditions from the original planning permission.
They include a ban on take-offs or landings on the new runway from 11pm to 7am, affecting two of the busiest hours of the day, and restricting the average number of flights during those night time hours to 65, even though the airport is already operating 99.
On the coastal side of the airport, Portmarnock and its population of nearly 9,000 people are also deeply affected by the existing flight path.
Pat Suttle, chairman of the local community association, said the biggest problem was agreeing when flights should be allowed to operate when the second runway is built.
“Reasoned discussions bring agreements. I’m more into reasoned discussion than guerilla warfare,” he said.
Mr Suttle described the impact of being so close to planes on their final approach to Dublin – about 6km from the airport and a minute and a half from touchdown.
“You can nearly see the scrapes on the tyres of the landing wheels,” he said.
“The noise is very, very intrusive.”
Mr Suttle warned that questions may be asked about using a planning permission that is nine years old in an industry that changes rapidly.
“More than likely we are going to have flights from Beijing, New Delhi, Singapore, South America – the whole scene has changed. What time do the people on those flights want to land?” he said.
“Noise that is turning on and turning off every three minutes, that type of noise is extremely disruptive, extremely disruptive to sleep. During the day it is probably tolerable but at night it is not.
“There is also how this will affect schools.”
The Portmarnock Community Association meets airport chiefs on Monday and the St Margaret’s group will meet them separately to open negotiations on the buying of homes, insulation proposals and limiting flights.
Dublin Airport bosses offer to buy homes in bid to step up second runway plans
7.4.2016 (Belfast Telegraph)
The €320 million runway project was first given the green light in 2007 and management is now examining options to reverse tough planning restrictions on take-offs and landings between 11pm and 7am.
Forty homes suffering the greatest noise disruption have already been identified and another set of homes close to the airport will be offered specialist insulation.
Meetings have been arranged with residents’ associations from Portmarnock and St Margaret’s to assess demand.
“We are going to work very closely with the residents,” a spokeswoman for the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) said.
“There is a number of mitigating measures which we put forward as part of the planning application back in 2007. We will be honouring that.”
The cost for the home buy-up scheme has not been estimated but the DAA said it would pay “full market value” based on independent assessments.
The 3,110 metre runway will be built 1.6km north of the existing main runway and airport bosses estimate it will help create 31,000 jobs over two decades.
The DAA said compulsory purchase orders will not be used in the expansion as the airport secured the necessary land bank in the 1970s when the idea was first floated.
Aviation chiefs identified houses for purchase by assessing exposure to noise from planes in homes and schools.
Tests were carried out during the day and night along places at the same height over 90 days of the airport’s busiest months from June to September.
They were recorded on contours on a map and took into account the types of aircraft, the flight paths and other factors.
Areas hit by noise of 63 decibels will be offered insulation and people in homes affected by 69 decibels will be offered relocation.
The DAA said the scheme was in line with international practice.
The Portmarnock Residents’ Association is meeting airport bosses on Monday for talks on the expansion plans and the potential buy-outs and insulation offers.
Kevin Toland, DAA chief executive, said the airport’s runway infrastructure is currently at capacity during peak hours.
“We are very conscious of balancing the national and business needs with those of our local communities and we will continue to work closely with our neighbours in relation to this project,” Mr Toland said.
Conditions three and five of the original planning permission would severely reduce future operational capacity of the airport at key periods.
They include a ban on take-offs or landings on the new runway from 11pm to 7am, which would affect two of the busiest hours of the day – 6am-7am for departures and 11pm to midnight for arrivals.
The second condition restricted the average number of take-offs and landings at the airport between 11pm and 7am to 65.
At the time the average was already 72 and it is now 99, meaning flights would be cut by one third during the eight night-time hours if the runway is built under the current planning order.
“It’d be akin to putting a lane on the M50 and not being allowed to use it,” the spokeswoman said.
The entire project was put on hold in 2008 because of the recession.
Construction is now scheduled to start in 2017 and about 1,200 people will work on the building project.
It is billed as the key expansion needed to cement Dublin as a North Atlantic hub for long-haul operations, an idea repeatedly floated by International Airlines Group when it was buying Aer Lingus.
Passenger numbers recovered significantly as the economy has begun to improve and last year was the busiest in the airport’s history, with 25 million people passing through.
The DAA said passenger numbers continue to grow strongly this year, with double-digit growth recorded in January and February.
It said almost 50 new routes and services have been added to schedules in the last two years, along with significant increases in capacity on a number of existing routes and nine new airlines operating at Dublin.
Mr Toland said a second operating runway has the potential to open up connections to a range of long-haul destinations, particularly Asia, Africa and South America.
“The north runway will significantly improve Ireland’s connectivity, which plays a critical role in growing passenger numbers and sustaining the future economic development of Ireland,” he said.
Paschal Donohoe, acting Transport Minister, said the runway was a vital piece of infrastructure that would support Ireland’s continuing economic recovery.
“It has the potential to create thousands of jobs, both directly and indirectly, over the coming years,” he said.
“In recent years, Dublin Airport has experienced a strong and sustainable return to growth. However, in order to capitalise on this growth and sustain it into the future, we need to put in place the appropriate airport infrastructure.”
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions warned the runway project must not become a vehicle for bogus self-employment and tax evasion in the construction sector.
Trade union official Fergus Whelan said: “Forcing individual workers to pretend they are independent contractors only benefits bad construction employers. Workers lose their rights and entitlements and the state loses tax revenue.”
The congress also called for adequate apprentice numbers to be employed.
Elsewhere, the Green Party said people in Portmarnock and St Margaret’s who live below flight paths will be adversely affected.
.
Work to build Dublin 2nd runway could start in 2017 for completion in 2020
Dublin airport is to press ahead with building a 2nd main runway, resurrecting plans that were approved in August 2007 but then put on hold when Ireland was plunged into financial crisis after 2008. The 2 mile runway will be cost about €320 million (£258m) with work starting in 2017. It may be ready by 2020, to meet rising demand. Passenger numbers at Dublin are now back up to where they were before the recession, and although the airport is not yet at full capacity, it is congested at peak hours. There were around 25 million passengers in 2015. Passenger numbers are expected to rise further. Dublin to London is one of the world’s busiest international air routes, while the facility to pre-clear US immigration in Ireland has made Dublin popular with transatlantic travellers. Ireland cut is small charge of €3 on air tickets in 2013, while Northern Ireland continued to charge £13 in APD. Many people therefore travelled from Northern Ireland to Dublin, to save money. Ryanair has over 40% of the flights at Dublin backs the runway, as does IAG. Willie Walsh has said he might consider using Dublin more if Heathrow got a 3rd runway, and raised charges sharply. There are some conditions restricting night flights very slightly, (65 per night 11pm to 7am) with the 2nd runway.
Click here to view full story…