Heathrow’s new flight plans are set to be debated in Parliament amid fears they could create “noise sewers” over London which could hit house prices.
Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney has secured a Commons debate on Thursday on the impact of aircraft noise on local communities.
It will come after a a Special Standing Committee on Heathrow (SSCH) at Richmond Council was reactivated, meeting on Tuesday, for the first time since 2021 to consider how to respond to proposals which may impact negatively on the borough.
Richmond council has long opposed a third runway at the west London airport.
But now there are also worries that narrower flight paths could create “noise sewers” in London’s skies, affecting communities below.
Heathrow is developing an Airspace Modernisation Programme, as are other airports, as part of a new masterplan for flights over Britain.
The Richmond council Heathrow meeting heard how the west London airport’s modernisation programme may result in new flight paths being used for landing and take-off using Performance Based Navigation (PBN).
This system uses modern satellite navigation, moving away from conventional navigation techniques using ground-based beacons, and can create narrower and more consistent flight paths.
“This may mean that some areas see an increased frequency in planes overhead, whilst others are less overflown,” said a briefing paper for the SSCH, which highlighted that PBN has already been introduced in some parts of America, including New York.
“Analysis of its implementation in the US has found to have the negative impact of creating ‘noise sewers’ whereby airport noise is concentrated over specific neighbourhoods along the flight-paths,” explained the document for the Richmond committee.
Ahead of the Commons debate on airports, Liberal Democrat MP Ms Olney told The Standard: “For years, residents like my constituents in Richmond Park who are underneath Heathrow’s flight path have had their lives disrupted by the constant air traffic above their home.
“The news of narrower flight paths will no doubt be cause for concern for many affected communities. The impact on local residents could be far beyond simply noise complaints.
“The impact could be widespread from hitting house prices, to disrupted sleep, impacting local communities’ health, work, and personal lives.”
The exact details of any new narrower flight paths are not yet clear.
Heathrow has published 181 options for Airspace Design which include a range of potential landing/take-off routes over south west London, including some areas not currently overflown, the Richmond committee agenda stated.
For areas under a “noise sewer,” planes may fly over them for only part of the day, giving them “respite” periods from overhead noise.
A spokesperson for Heathrow, which is considering whether to relaunch its third runway plans, said: “Despite the progress we have made to reduce the area most impacted by aircraft noise by 41% in 2023 since 2006, we know that noise is an issue for some people in our local communities.
“That’s why we are doing all we can to find new ways to become a quieter airport.
“We will continue to work in close partnership with our airlines, regulators, air traffic controllers and local communities to find new ways to minimise the impacts of our operations.”
