§ Sir Eldon GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, following the report of the inter-departmental land compensation working party, he will state the Government's policy in regard to insulation and compensation for injurious affection of schools and hospitals that are subjected to military aircraft noise exceeding 70 dba.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe general position is that compensation for injurious affection arising from the use of public works including airfields is limited to owners and owner-occupiers of residential property, owner-occupiers of agricultural property and owner occupiers of hereditaments not exceeding a rateable value of £2,250. There are no proposals to extend this eligibility.
The land compensation working party set up a sub-group to look at the Noise Insulation Regulations 1975 and regulations governing certain civil airports with a view to their possible extension to buildings other than dwellings. It is expected that the sub-group's report will be submitted in July.
Buildings near military airfields are not covered by these statutory provisions. However, the Ministry of
Gatwick Heathrow Manchester Quota Actual Quota Actual Quota Actual 1988 Summer 4,430 (60) 4,430 (57) 2,750 (60) 1,830 6,760 6,723 1988–89 Winter 2,025 (30) 2,040 (11) 2,982 (30) 3,002 (30) — 1,464 1989 Summer 4,580 (60) 1,281 ( 5) 2,750 (60) 802 (39) 7,098 2,179 Notes:
1. 1989 summer 'actual' figures are given to 17 June.
2. Figures in brackets are delayed noisy movements subject to special quota.
3. Figures for Manchester airport provided by Manchester Airport plc who are responsible for setting the monitoring quotas at that airport. Winter night jet operations at Manchester are not subject to quota restrictions.
4. The current summer season does not end until 24.00 hours on 28 October.
5. At Gatwick and Heathrow the night noise restrictions permit the airport manager to disregard flights from the restrictions if they are delayed by widespread and prolonged disruption of air traffic or in other exceptional circumstances. In the summer season of 1988 Gatwick Airport Limited disregarded for quota purposes 1,598 movements and Heathrow Airport Limited disregarded 97. In the winter season 1988–89 Gatwick disregarded 95 movements while Heathrow disregarded 56 movements. At Manchester whilst restrictions were temporarily suspended for the same reason there were 961 night flights. All these flights are additional to the figures already mentioned.
6. The quota of 3,000 movements for winter 1988–89 at Heathrow was reduced to 2,982 because 18 infringements of the maximum permitted noise level were recorded prior to 31 January.