Reducing local air and noise pollution is one of my priorities for Runnymede and Weybridge and I was therefore pleased to respond to Heathrow airport’s consultation on its Noise Action Plan (NAP) for 2024-28 last week.
Alongside the many benefits our proximity to Heathrow provides - including job creation, investment and convenience of international travel – it also presents challenges. One of the most significant is the noise impact of flight paths, with many constituents and community groups raising concerns with me about the effect that aircraft noise is having on their every day lives.
The NAP sets out Heathrow’s strategy for managing and reducing the impacts of aircraft noise over the next five years, and I welcome a number of the key aims set out in the document including the ambition to take areas of the constituency, such as Thorpe, out of contour surrounding the airport where residents experience most noise. I also strongly welcome Heathrow’s ambition to reduce night time flights, and its commitment to working with community groups to develop a preferred night route trial to share noise across local communities after 11pm.
However, my consultation response highlights further work that should be done to provide greater respite to areas of the constituency which resident feedback suggests are most acutely affected by aircraft noise, including Englefield Green, Egham and areas of Weybridge. I have called on Heathrow to expedite the increased use of steeper take-offs, and to take the significant noise impact on these areas into account in its forthcoming airspace strategy design.
You can view my full consultation response below.
This consultation response follows my recent work on supporting a sustainable aviation sector, which you can see here. There is a huge amount of work underway to modernise and improve aviation, which will help to protect jobs, grow our economy and meet our environmental targets. With so much to gain, I will continue to work closely with ministers and stakeholders from across the aviation sector to deliver these benefits for residents.
