§ Mr. Sandelsonasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on the long-term strategy to reduce night noise disturbance around Heathrow and Gatwick.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisFor several years my Department has restricted night jet operations at Heathrow and Gatwick. The number of permitted night flights has been settled annually for each coming season, and the restrictions gradually tightened in accordance with the Government's policy of progressively reducing night noise disturbance around the two airports.
It is my intention to replace this process of annual decision making with a long-term strategy for the reduction of night noise disturbance, thus giving local people some assurance about the future, and providing the industry with a basis for planning and shaping its operations. I am sending out today a consultative document seeking the views of all concerned in order to help me reach a decision on the strategy to be adopted. A copy of this has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
This document reviews the present state of knowledge on the relationship between noise and sleep disturbance in order to identify typical thresholds of disturbance; it then compares these thresholds with the performance of aircraft currently in service at Heathrow and Gatwick. The evidence appears to show that a substantial reduction in night noise disturbance can basically only be achieved either by continued reductions in the number of permitted night flights leading to closure or by gradually phasing out night flights by the noisier aircraft, but allowing the quieter ones to continue. Views are also 123W sought on the hours of restriction, the possibility of relating airport charges at night to noise disturbance and on the introduction of a system of night runway alternation at Heathrow.