CAGNE dismayed there will be no Gatwick departures review, and CAA Route 4 approval
Local Gatwick group, CAGNE, are very disappointed that Gatwick airport will not be holding a full review of departures – in the way there was a review of arrivals. One key reason for this is that one airspace change has impacts on others. At the Gatwick Noise Management Board meeting (5th April) community groups learned of Gatwick’s decision not to hold a full Departure Review, contrary to earlier indications.Sally Pavey, Chair CAGNE, commented: “CAGNE always seeks a fair and equitable distribution of arrivals and departures to the east and west of the airport for West Sussex and Surrey residents. We know that many communities that suffer the concentrated flight paths of departures (PRNAV) will now be very dissatisfied.” The CAA approved the introduction of concentrated flight paths on all departure routes from Gatwick in May 2014 with seemingly little consultation. The CAA then reviewed these, (CAA PIR Review), and only found some routes needed re-addressing to comply with the current Government airspace policy and CAA guidelines, one of which was Route 4. The CAA has now approved the changes to the Surrey Route 4, which departs west from Gatwick and then turns east, to the intense disappointment of many now intensely overflown. The noise metrics the CAA uses do not properly the impacts, with averaging conveniently concealing intense periods of noise.
.
Tweet
CAGNE dismayed there will be no departures review, and CAA Route 4 approval
22.4.2017 (CAGNE – Communities Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions)
CAGNE expresses dismay at:
· Gatwick’s decision not to hold a full departure review
· The CAA’s approval of the Surrey departure Route 4
From the outset of the Gatwick Arrival Review CAGNE, Communities Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions, has campaigned to have a Departure Review and that departures be considered alongside Gatwick scrutinising the issues of arrival noise; changing one airspace has implications for another.
At the Gatwick Noise Management Board meeting (5th April) community groups were dismayed at Gatwick’s decision not to hold a full Departure Review contrary to earlier indications.
“Gatwick gave residents who suffer arrivals a review and communities had been led to believe the review of departures would be forthcoming once the arrival review had been concluded but it would seem this is no longer the case,” said Sally Pavey Chair of CAGNE.
“CAGNE always seeks a fair and equitable distribution of arrivals and departures to the east and west of the airport for West Sussex and Surrey residents. We know that many communities that suffer the concentrated flight paths of departures (PRNAV) will now be very dissatisfied.”
The CAA approved the introduction of concentrated flight paths on all departure routes out of Gatwick in May 2014 with seemingly little consultation. The CAA then reviewed these, (CAA PIR Review), and only found some routes needed re-addressing to comply with the current Government airspace policy and CAA guidelines, one of which was Route 4.
The CAA uses old noise metrics to judge noise, which do not take into account the number of planes Gatwick seeks to fly during hourly bursts early in the morning, late evening and during the night as these are averaged out and so the percentage increase in the impact is seen as insignificant.
The CAA has now approved the changes to the Surrey Route 4, which departs west of Gatwick and then turns east. For many this will be disappointing but there is still hope as CAGNE will be party to the NMB departure workshop (1st June) and has requested that a working party now look at each route to address the specific community issues if we are to be denied a full review of departures.
Gatwick details:
Residents are advised to complain to Gatwick over aircraft noise, as this is how Gatwick judges aircraft impact.
http://gatwickairport.com/business-community/aircraft-noise-airspace/noise-enquiries/
.
Councils are encouraged to join other council by joining the CAGNE Council Aviation Forum www.cagnepcforum.org.uk
.
The Government’s current airspace consultation can be found at
Current consultations – deadline 25th May 11.45pm.
.
CAA Consultation – deadline 30th June.
.
.
See also
CAA confirm Route 4 changes to be permanent – local group calls it the “Route to Misery”
Early in April the CAA approved the current P-RNAV design of Gatwick’s Route 4 (the take off route towards the west, that turns north and heads east). This was altered in 2016 in response to the complaints about the way it has recently been altered. Now, dismissing the outpouring of complaints to the current route as “as expected”, the CAA says the route will continue. The CAA has concluded that modified Route 4 “has delivered the aim of the airspace change to an acceptable standard and this change will now be made permanent.” They recognise that this has an impact on communities and has asked Gatwick to “investigate the potential of meaningful respite” by “alternating or switching a proportion of Route 4 departures onto another route.” Local group, deeply opposed to the current Route 4, Plane Justice, comments that the CAA appears indifferent to the misery of the people who wrote in complaining about the Route. They are angry that the complaints are considered just “AS EXPECTED” rather than real expressions of genuine concern and annoyance. The group has a Route 4 Legacy Pledge, which calls on the CAA to revisit its decision and return Route 4 to the geographical position and dispersion pattern it occupied before 2013 (the ‘legacy Route’). They are asking people to sign up to this.
Click here to view full story…
.
Launch of new group “Plane Justice” for those newly affected by Gatwick Route 4 since May 2016
Residents north of Gatwick, from Newdigate through to Salfords, have launched “Plane Justice”, a collective of communities which seeks to support (whether through campaigning, communications, discussion, negotiation or legal process) those who are, or would be, newly affected by aircraft in airport ‘catchment areas’. Formed in response to changes made to Gatwick departure Route 4 in May 2016, the founders of Plane Justice have experienced on a personal level the stress, anxiety and sense of hopelessness and financial insecurity that changing flight paths causes to communities. The group describes the current iteration of Route 4 as the “Route to Misery”, with a noisy turn and a more southern trajectory after the turn, which overflies more than 7,000 new residents. They want to bring an evidence-based and ethical dimension into decision making about the management of airspace, which in their experience to date of Gatwick and its associated aircraft noise, has been surprisingly lacking. Many people feel there has been a serious injustice in the way areas have been targeted by unacceptable levels of aircraft noise. Plane Justice wants Gatwick’s hated “Route 4” to be returned to its pre-2013 “legacy” position, which was flown for decades with negligible complaints.
Click here to view full story…
.