New Government

On 6th May 2010 there was a general election which resulted in a new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government. All references to the Government on this page in relation to happenings before 6th May 2010 are references to the previous Labour Government first elected in 1997.

For more information see our Other UK Airport Issues page. As mentioned there the detail of the policy of the new Government towards aviation and airports remains to be seen but some idea of the direction of future policy can be gained from the note issued on 11th May 2010 of the agreements reached by the two parties in their coalition discussions and in the new Government's subsequent programme document The Coalition: our programme for government:.

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Aircraft Noise - the Big Issue

At most Airports noise is the environmental issue which attracts the most attention, especially among local residents.

At Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted the question of noise is taken so seriously that they are designated for the purposes of s.78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 which means that noise amelioration is the responsibility of the Government.

At a number of other airports the noise regime is negotiated and agreed with the local planning authority and enshrined in a planning agreement under s. 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Very often these provisions are very detailed - see for example the Noise Page of the London City Airport Consultative Committee.

And, of course, noise is now such a sensitive issue that the European Union is now at the forefront of action to mitigate airport noise. Their Environmental Noise Directive (END) requires the Noise Mapping of significant airports andthe preparation of Noise Action Plans.

All of this is described on this page.

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Civil Aviation Act 1982 - Section 80

There are presently three airports designated under section 80 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 for the purposes of section 78 of that Act. They are the London airports at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. Section 78 empowers the Secretary of State (and, in Scotland, the Scottish Ministers) to regulate noise and vibration connected with aircraft taking off or landing at designated airports.

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Noise Insulation

Paragraph 3.21 of the 2003 Paper White Paper -The Future Air Transport, says the Government expects, with immediate effect, "the relevant airport operators" to:

• offer households subject to high levels of noise (69dBA Leq or more) assistance with the costs of relocating; and
• offer acoustic insulation (applied to residential properties) to other noise-sensitive buildings, such as schools and hospitals, exposed to medium to high levels of noise (63dBA Leq or more).

To facilitate the application of this new benchmark, it is suggested that the operators of airports where these criteria might be triggered should institute noise contouring programmes to verify current noise levels, where they do not already do so.

A number of airports operate such schemes and, indeed, at London City Airport, a city centre airport, the trigger point for noise insultation is set much lower (at 57dBA Leq or more).

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Environmental Noise Directive (END)

European Directive 2002/49/EC - Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise, often known as the Environmental Noise Directive (END), came into effect in June 2002.

The aim of the END is to define a common approach across the European Union with the intention of avoiding, preventing or reducing on a prioritised basis the harmful effects, including annoyance, due to exposure to environmental noise. This involves:

informing the public about environmental noise and its effects;

the preparation of strategic noise maps for large urban areas (known as 'agglomerations' ), major roads, major railways and major airports as defined in the END; and

preparing action plans based on the results of the noise mapping exercise.

The noise action plans (NAPS) would help to manage and reduce environmental noise where necessary, and preserve environmental noise quality where it is good.

The END should have been transposed into law by the Member States of the EU by 18 July 2004. However, because of the large number of complex technical details which had to be resolved, Defra found it impossible to comply with this deadline England and it was not until September 2006 that the Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/2238) were laid before Parliament. The Regulations came into force on 1 October 2006. In 2008 the Environmental Noise (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/375) made some  minor amendments .

The END is being separately implemented in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – for more information visit the Scottish Government website or that of the Welsh Assembly Government or the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland . It will be noted that Northern Ireland is well ahead in implementing the END and draft Action Plans for road, rail and airports are already available.

Amendment of the 2006 Regulations

In February 2009 the Department began a consultation about a number of changes to the 2006 Regulations.  The changes of substance are:

• “Quiet Areas”:  The proposed amendment replaces a requirement to publish the names of quiet areas by way of Regulations with a duty on the Secretary of State to identify “quiet area” in such form as he may determine.  The reasons for this are given on pages 6 and 7 of the consultation document.
• Consolidated Noise Maps:  The 2006 Regulations place the Secretary of State under a duty to produce a consolidated noise map from all strategic noise maps which are adopted pursuant to Regulation 23. The proposed amendment makes this a discretionary power to produce consolidated noise maps in respect of any area based on strategic noise maps produced for rail, roads, air and agglomerations. (See page 8 of the consultation document).
• The 2006 Regulations impose a duty on the Secretary of State to publish guidance setting out limit values or other criteria for the identification of priorities for actions plans. The proposed amendment would remove this duty. The proposed revision to Regulation 30 provides that the Secretary of State has the power to issue guidance to competent authorities, at any time, with respect to the exercise of their functions under the Regulations. (See page 9 of the consultation document)
• A further amendment is to remove the requirement to identify noise sources for mapping in the form of regulations. From 2011 onwards, noise sources will instead be identified in the form of published maps.

The deadline for comments was Monday 11th May 2009. The Department published the responses to the consultation the following month and the amending Regulations - the Environmental Noise (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/1610) - came into force on 25th July 2009. And on 11th February 2010 there was a further amendment of the Regulations in the Environmental Noise (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/340).

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Noise Mapping

In England, and indeed for the rest of the UK, the noise mapping of airports and the preparation of the NAPS, as required by the END, is the responsibility of the airport operator although in the case of airports designated under s.78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted) the noise mapping part of the work (but not the actions plans) is the responsibility of the Secretary of State.

Airport technical guidance has been produced for operators of civil airports affected by the Regulations although this does not apply to the designated airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted).

In December 2007 Defra published the noise maps for 18 airports in England while those for 'agglomerations' were published in May 2008 - these maps can all be seen on Defra's website. The 18 airports are Birmingham, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, London Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle, East Midlands, Shoreham, Southampton and Southend.  Noise maps have also been produced for Edinburgh, Glasgow, Prestwick and Aberdeen airports in Scotland.

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Noise Action Plans

According to the END the publication of the noise maps for airports was the precursor to the preparation by airport operators of Noise Action Plans (NAPS). In September 2008 Defra issued for consultation drafts of their proposed Guidance to airport operators in relation to the drawing up of these Plans. The closing date for comment was 28th November 2008.

The Guidance (.pdf - 169kb) was finalised and issued on 24th March 2009. Airport operators are required to prepare their NAPs having regard to the Guidance and according to the following timetable:

• By 1st July 2009 : Formal Consultation on draft noise action plan commences
• By 21st October 2009 : Formal Consultation ends
• By 30th November 2009 : Draft Noise Action Plan and accompanying summary to be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport and copied to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Defra said this timetable had been prepared to take account of, and correspond with, the expected progress on the preparation of the other noise action plans required by the Regulations. 

As expected the Guidance said airport operators should “engage” with Airport Consultative Committees “in the development of the draft Noise Action Plan”. The Airport should also liaise with the local planning authority and other local authorities affected by the airport, as well as NATS and airline operators. Operators might also wish to consult local amenity groups with whom they would normally engage over airport issues.  There would then follow a period of consultation with the public about the draft NAP with 16 weeks allowed for the submission of comments.

The Guidance goes on to say that airport operators should “examine and reflect upon the comments” received in consultation and complete the Draft Noise Action Plan including a description of the comments received during the consultation process and a reasoned justification for the response to the issues raised. If there were any unresolved conflicts between the Airport’s NAP and the action plan for the agglomeration (where applicable), these should be reported in the NAP.

By early 2010 the NAPs of most airports had been submitted to Defra and the DfT and were being considered for approval. In June 2011 it was reported that the Noise Action Plans for Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham and East Midlands had been approved by the Government but that a decision had still to be taken on those for other airports.

This information applies mainly to airports in England but similar requirement apply elsewhere in the UK.  In Northern Ireland the Noise Action Plans for Roads, Railways, Industry and Belfast International Airport were approved and adopted by the Environment Minister on 5 March 2010. These Action Plans are available on Department of Environment’s website. For the latest in Scotland and Wales refer to the websites of the Scottish Government  and the Welsh Assembly Government respectively.

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Noise Policy Statement for England (NPSE)

On 15th March 2010 Defra published the Noise Policy Statement for England (NPSE). At the same time following a four months consultation ending in November 2009 the Department also published :

• The Noise Action Plans for the 23 first round agglomerations including those covering the areas of the UKACCS member airports at Bournemouth, Bristol, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Sheffield, Southampton, Teesside, Tyneside, West Midlands and West Yorkshire.
• The Noise Action Plan for major roads outside agglomerations;
• The Noise Action Plan for major railways outside agglomerations.

The Plans can be accessed a on Defra's website. See also DEFRA's letter to stakeholders.

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Control of Noise from Civil Aircraft

Among the package of papers issued with the White Paper was the Government's conclusions on the ideas it issued for consultation in July 2000 aimed at tackling operational aircraft noise from civil aircraft. Click this link for a summary of the response prepared for the Liaison Group.

The key message is that the Government would seek powers for airports to establish noise amelioration schemes. The new powers would –

• not apply to airports designated for the purposes of s.78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 – currently Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted – where noise amelioration is the responsibility of the Secretary of State.>
• be voluntary - there will be no powers to compel an aerodrome to prepare a noise amelioration scheme. (If in a particular case the voluntary arrangements prove to be unsatisfactory the Secretary of State’s has powers to apply s.78.)
• not be used to unpick existing arrangements (including any planning permissions/conditions and s106 agreements).
• will not specify in detail the sanctions for non compliance but there will be Government guidance setting the minimum and maximum sanctions that aerodromes should adopt.
• operate within and immediately outside the aerodrome’s traffic circuit and beyond to include the full extent of noise preferential routes.

Amendments would also be sought to:

• make it clear that airport charges can be directly related to compliance with noise mitigation procedures;
• strengthen the powers available at airports designated under section 78, so that, for example, controls such as night restrictions can be set on the basis of noise quotas alone, without a separate movements limit. Thus controls could be related more directly to the noise nuisance, providing a more effective incentive for airlines to acquire, use and develop quieter aircraft. Other amendments will allow the Government to direct take-offs and/or landings onto a particular runway and to stipulate fines to be levied by the courts for s.78 violations.

Most of these proposed new powers are contained in the Civil Aviation Act 2006.

Click here to see a copy of the original consultation paper.  A full summary of the responses to the consultation was issued in March 2002.

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Rules and Procedures for Introducing Noise Related Operating Restrictions

EU Directive 2002/30, which came into effect on 28th March 2002, prescribes rules and procedures for introducing noise related operating restrictions at Community Airports. Members states were given 18 months in which to implement the directive.  Following a consultation exercise between July and October 2002, the Government in July 2003 made the Aerodromes (Noise Restrictions) (Rules and Procedures) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/1742).  These came into effect on 6th August 2003 and provide that the responsibility for undertaking the assessments required by the Directive, and for reaching any consequent decision about operating restrictions (which may include prohibiting the noisiest aircraft from the airport either at certain times or completely), should rest with:

• the Secretary of State for Transport, in the case of airports designated for the purposes of Section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 (currently the three London airports - Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted)
• the airport operator, in the case of all other (ie. non-designated) airports to which the Directive applies.

and that these bodies would be "competent authorities" under Article 3 of the Directive.

For more information see the DfT's Press Release and the Summary of Responses to the 2002 Consultation Exercise

The Regulations give rise to interesting procedural issues where it is proposed at a non-designated airport to impose noise restrictions as a condition of planning permission, or by agreement under s.106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, or significantly to alter existing restrictions imposed originally in that way.  How are the new procedures to be dovetailed with the planning procedures and decision making processes which involve the local planning authority in a leading role?

The allows Member States to introduce at individual airports new operating restrictions, in particular on aircraft that are marginally compliant with ICAO Chapter 3, provided that they do so in accordance with the so-called “Balanced Approach” set out in ICAO Assembly Resolutions A33-7 and A35-5.

Article 14 of the Directive requires the Commission to report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the application of the Directive no later than five years after its entry into force. It specifies further that the Commission's report should be accompanied, if necessary, by proposals for revision of the Directive.   Click here to see the Commission's Report which was issued in February 2008. This concluded:

• The Directive puts a harmonised structure for a balanced approach in place and it has been useful in ensuring that all interests are taken into account when restrictions are considered.
• However, the Directive has only been used in the case of a limited number of airports; some stakeholders are of the opinion that it is not sufficiently clear and some Member States already had similar provisions under national law prior to the entry into force of the Directive.
  
• Moreover, its impact in respect of marginally compliant aircraft is limited because the number of these aircraft is comparatively small due to their natural replacement;
  
• More generally, the number of people affected by noise, particularly at night, has increased since the Directive came into force, due to a general increase in the number of movements, in spite of the possibility to introduce partial restrictions.
  
• The Commission's prediction is that the number of people affected by noise will continue to grow although the situation may differ between airports.
  
• For that reason the Commission intends to examine ways of clarifying the provisions of Directive 2002/30/EC and its scope.
• It will also consider whether changes in the current Directive, such as the definition of marginally compliant aircraft, are needed. In doing so, it will take account of the outcome of the estimates described above, predicting that the growth in the number of people affected by noise could be reduced by a more stringent definition of marginally compliant aircraft.

In July 2008 the UK Department for Transport launched a consultation noting that it proposed to liaise further with the Commission and other member states in the autumn on plans for taking forward the Commission's review, so as to to clarify the provisions and scope of the Directive. To inform those discussions the Department asked for comments from interested parties in the UK about the application of the Directive, possible ways to improve it and key elements which should not be lost. The closing date for comments was 19 September 2008. The Department is now waiting for the Commission to finalise its plans and timetable for reviewing the Directive.

In a May 2010 update the Commission said it was "considering the review of the ‘airport noise directive’ (2002/30/EC) in order to strengthen the implementation of the ICAO balanced approach to noise management.”  It also wants to enhance the link to the Environmental Noise Directive so as to reduce the administrative burden for Member States and have a more precise idea of the number of people affected by noise nuisance.

Then in December 2011 the Commission put forward proposals for euro- legislation aimed at increasing the transparency in the process of setting noise-related restrictions at airports, including an oversight role for the Commission. This is not about targets, but about the decision-making process. It gives the Commission a scrutiny role – it does not replace a Member State's final decision. The proposals also update existing legislation in line with technological developments to make it easier for authorities to phase-out the noisiest planes. For more information see COM(2011) 828 final

"Decisions on cutting noise levels" says the Commission "have to balance protection for citizens living close to airports against the needs of those who wish to travel. Decisions must be taken in line with guidelines set at international level (by the UN body, the International Civil Aviation Organisation). Residents are entitled to be protected from excess noise from airports but it is necessary to take into account costs in terms of lost capacity and the impact on economic growth in a region."

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Attitudes to Noise from Aircraft Sources in in England (ANASE)

This long running study was launched in May 2001.  Its aim was to research how people feel about aircraft noise and especially how they perceive the relationship between noise levels and annoyance, or sleep disturbance at night, and how they would value lower noise levels relative to other environmental factors.

The results of the Study were finally published by the Department early in November 2007 - the consultants' report, together with peer reviews and Departmental statement papers, have been placed on the DfT website.

The Department say two key conclusions emerge from the study. First, that people are more annoyed by all levels of aircraft noise than they were in 1985, when the last major study in this field was carried out. Secondly, there is no identifiable threshold at which noise becomes a serious problem. Even relatively low levels of noise can cause some annoyance, which rises as the noise increases.

The Government say they will take these findings into account in developing air transport policy. However, as the peer review makes clear, the study could not provide a reliable way of attaching a monetary figure to the impact of aircraft noise. Pending the availability of a better alternative, the Government will apply the existing valuation for road and rail noise when assessing the economic impact of noise in the cost-benefit analysis of future aviation projects. This, they say, is in line with the procedure introduced for road and rail last year.

At their meeting at Heathrow on 11/12 June 2008 the Liaision Group received a presentation by the Department's ANASE consultants. At the 2009 Annual Meeting in Belfast members heard that the Department had been working with ANMAC on the scope for further work to follow up ANASE findings. For example, work was in hand to consider the scope for noise modelling at lower levels.

It is known that the study was referred to in a number of the Noise Action Plans submitted by airports.

Meanwhile members may like to note that on the DfT website there is a useful summary of Government sponsored research into aircraft noise and sleep disturbance.

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Night Flying Restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted - consultation

In July 2004 the Government launched a Stage I consultation exercise in relation to proposals for the next night noise restrictions regime for these Airports which would apply for six years, beginning in October 2005 and continuing until the end of the summer season in 2011.  The closing date for comments on Stage 1 was 29 October 2004. [Consultation Documents].

The Stage I consultation process was challenged in the High Court by the London Boroughs of Richmond and Wandsworth on the grounds that the Secretary of State had relied on inaccurate aircraft noise statistics. After a hearing in the High Court on 13th December 2004 the case was resolved by a court order. This recorded that the parties had agreed that the Secretary of State is entitled to have regard to the operational noise of aircraft (and not merely to ICAO certification data) in formulating operating restrictions, provided that, in respect of performance-based operating restrictions at any given airport, aircraft with the same ICAO certificated noise levels are treated in the same way.

Stage 2 of the consultation process was launched on 10th June 2005 [Consultation Paper]. It had been hoped that the Stage 2 consultation could be completed in time to have a new night noise regime in place by 30 October 2005. However, the timing was affected by the General Election in May 2005 and the Government concluded it was impossible to complete the process by October while still allowing reasonable time time for consultation and analysis of the responses. Thus it was announcd in December 2005 that the present night restrictions regime would continuefor a further year from 30 October 2005 until 29 October 2006

The Stage 2 consultation paper, which took account of the responses to Stage 1, set out detailed proposals for night restrictions covering the six-year period from the end of the summer season 2006 to the end of the summer season 2012. The closing date was 16 September 2005.

The Secretary of State's decision on Stage 2 was announced in June 2006. The new regime, which lasts until 2012, recognises both a night period, 2300-0700 hours, and a night quota period, 2330-0600 hours. During the whole of the night period, the noisiest types of aircraft may not be scheduled to land or take off and they are effectively banned from doing so (other than in exceptional circumstances) in the night quota period. The next noisiest types (QC/4) may also no longer be scheduled to operate in the night quota period. In addition, during the night quota period movements by most other types of aircraft (including the new QC/0.25 category) will be restricted by a movements limit and a noise quota, which are set for each season. The seasons change with the clocks.

A January 2011 report by Heathrow noise campaign group HACAN ClearSkies claims a ban on night flights at the airport before 06:00 could save the economy up to £860m a year in costs linked to sleep deprivation. The launch of the report marks the start of a campaign by HACAN to get a ban on night flights between 23:00 and 06:00 when the new night flight regime is introduced in 2012.

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Aircraft Noise Monitoring Advisory Committee (ANMAC)

This Committee was set up by the Department for Transport to advise them on policy relating to aircraft noise at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted - these airports are designated for the purposes of s.78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 and noise amelioration is thus the responsibility of the Secretary of State. ANMAC's membership includes representatives from NATS, BAA, the Environmental Research and Consultancy Department of the CAA, the Scheduling Committees and a representative of the Consultative Committee at each of the three airports each accompanied by a technical adviser.

ANMAC meetings are held in private. This helps in the development of future policy and avoids the possibility of unnecessary anxiety among the communities affected by aircraft noise (or to raise hopes). Recently, however, the DfT has published a summary of the proceedings of the meetings.

There has been growing concern that ANMAC was now considering wider aircraft noise issues, not just those relating to the three London airports. An example of this was the further research proposed in connection with ANASE.  In view of this the UKACCs Working Group at its meeting in January 2009 looked at the terms of reference and membership of the Committee to see if any changes were needed.

The Working Group concluded that the key focus of the group continued to be the development of noise policy and the consideration of noise issues at the three designated airports in London.  There was thus a need for the discussions at ANMAC to be kept as private as possible In that ANMAC was considering wider noise issues the DfT's publication of a summary of the proceedings of the meetings was a welcome step forward. It was agreed to ask that UKACCs support service should be included on the circulation list of the summary so that member committees could be kept informed about the work of ANMAC.

UKACCs believes however that if ANMAC were to suggest changes in the management of aircraft noise or flight procedures of wider significance than just the three London airports, it is important that  these should be subject to wider involvement and consultation with other airports.

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