§ Mr. ColvinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking following the recommendations on aircraft noise prepared by the noise review working party 1990.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Government's response to the eight recommendations on aircraft noise in the noise review working party's report 1990 were published as part of the Department of Transport's Consultation Paper, "Control of Aircraft Noise", published in August 1991. That paper accepted some of the recommendations outright, rejected two, and invited comments on others. Publication of the consultation paper also fulfilled an undertaking given in the Government's White Paper "Our Common Inheritance".
In response to one of the recommendations (No. 31) my Department issued for consultation last December a draft planning policy guidance note "Planning and Noise" which incorporates the concept of different levels of noise exposure and relates this to noise sensitive development near airfields.
The Government are carefully considering the responses to the "Control of Aircraft Noise" consultation paper and a Government response will be announced in due course.