Flightpaths over ED

[fredricketts]

The planes in this area have been increasing for the last four years, I have lived in East Dulwich for the last 40 odd years, and never, until the last three years, I have had to keep turning my television up, just to hear it. Surely there must be something we can all do about it, like a petition, especially with the increase in air traffic. The noise has also increased since the City airport has been running. There are enough of us to at least bring it to the attention of the Government and Councils

[Izodia]

I do find it amazing that the flight paths are directly across the most populated area in the country. The French do not allow flights across Paris (or so I'm told).

The difficulty I have in complaining though is that I do really rather enjoy being able to catch cheap flights for weekends away. So in return, should I just cope with the noise? Being woken at 4.46am on Saturday morning seems a bit harsh though (and I'm a good sleeper having grown up under the Gatwick flight path).

[MitchK]

Have you thought of ear plugs at night? Used to live by a busy road and they work a treat. Forget about doing anything about it like complaining. Nothing will happen. We need airports and we all use them. ED is not that bad for noise. Try South west london!

[jb1000]

write to or email your MP (Tessa Jowell), complain about the aircraft noise - air traffic over London has doubled since Labour came into power, so they can't claim that it has nothing to do with them. Make it clear how much it impacts your quality of life and if it effects the way you may vote at the next election.

[Asset]

I think air traffic has increased everywhere in the last ten years, not sure we can lay the blame on a political party. Can't imagine any others would have made any difference!

Except maybe the Greens

[JenSpen]

I agree with Izodia - we all complain about this but I'm sure we are all happy to take advantage of cheap, frequent and flexible flights. The noise does seem to have increased recently, but I'll just stick a pillow over my head and block out the noise.

[Sue]

JenSpen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I agree with Izodia - we all complain about this

> but I'm sure we are all happy to take advantage of

> cheap, frequent and flexible flights. The noise

> does seem to have increased recently, but I'll

> just stick a pillow over my head and block out the

> noise.

xxxxxx

Well I'm probably a lone voice but actually I'd rather have more expensive and fewer flights, for all sorts of reasons :-S

[Mr Bojangles]

Why can't we have cheap flights that don't fly over heavily populated areas?

[JenSpen]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> JenSpen Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I agree with Izodia - we all complain about

> this

> > but I'm sure we are all happy to take advantage

> of

> > cheap, frequent and flexible flights. The noise

> > does seem to have increased recently, but I'll

> > just stick a pillow over my head and block out

> the

> > noise.

>

> xxxxxx

>

> Well I'm probably a lone voice but actually I'd

> rather have more expensive and fewer flights, for

> all sorts of reasons :-S

I'm too poor to be of that opinion Sue!!

[jb1000]

Asset,

If you're in power you're responsible for what goes on, as Labour is learning to its electoral cost. You can't say it would have happened under other parties, because Boris Johnson, for example, supports the plan for a huge new airport in the Thames estuary. If the Tories adopted that in their election manifesto I might actually consider voting for them.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Just buy yourself a spiral bound note book and enjoy the spotting opportunities.

[Asset]

Yes JB but you know as well as I that market forces and commercialism will win over politics. I don't for one minute believe that - for example - halving the air traffic over London (where too? over the home counties instead, or maybe Manchester?) would be a viable manifesto promise.

[Moos]

I think the Thames estuary plan is the best option. Heathrow just can't keep infinitely expanding.

[Asset]

thames estuary info

for anyone's interest

[cicelyl]

I cannot stress enough that unless people start taking action the planes will get worse. We bought our house almost two years ago and it was a huge mistake because of the constant plane noise. We will move as soon as we can afford it as really is so disturbing and is impacting our enjoyment of our house and garden. We should not have to live with the constant high pitched noise of planes, lasting 16 hours a day, often with little of no gap. I would rather lose money and take the pain now than suffer for the next 15 years as planes get even more frequent and lower in the sky.

I do think this is the fault of the government (whoever may be in power). No other city has made such a huge planning mistake by allowing Heathrow to develop the way it has. There is also a westerly preference (planes landing from the east flying over the length of the city) to protect communities nearer Heathrow (Cranford Agreement). However, the result now is that huge numbers of communities like ED are seriously suffering as landing planes are coming in much lower and are much noisier then they used to be. They could bring in more planes from the East (it is not just an issue about landing in to wind) and this would bring a lot more relief. The problem is that communities further from the airport like ED have not complained enough about the noise. As far as the government is concerned we have no issue.

There are also quite serious negaitve health consequences from plane noise (which the government is ignoring). They have done studies on people who sleep under a flight path and their blood pressure increases when the planes start at night...even when they do not wake up! It has also been shown to distract children and reduce their ability to concentrate. There are other options. London has Gatwick, Luton and Stanstead who can all take increased flights. Why should everything go to Heathrow? The reason is that the government plans to develop Heathrow as a global hub! Yer, you have it, people flying in to Heathrow and then straight out again. They want Heathrow to be the top hub in Europe. Hence the pressing need to increase Heathrow's capacity. The Economist wrote a very interesting acticle on Heathrow recently pointing out how little this benefits the economy, the huge noise and pollution problems with will cause and how Heathrow is just a BAD idea because it cannot expand enough for the 21 century. It is too close to London and on the wrong side of London! They need to go back to the drawing board.

Please get involved. Email and phone your MP and join HACAN. It really isn't that much effort. If we do nothing how is the government to know that communities like us are becoming seriously impacted.

[Margot]

It's true. I went for a walk in Beckenham Park and heard planes. Then another time went down to Kent and still heard planes, and when I went to an open air theatre production in Hertfordshire,I could also hear planes, although not quite as loud.

Where can you escape them? If you move to Suffolk, you have Stanstead, down to Brighton and you have Gatwick, off to the west country and you have Bristol and Exeter airport. The only way is to move to the middle of nowhere, but then the silence and boredom will be deafening. I used to feel sorry for people living in Hounslow - now I feel sorry for myself.

[jollybaby]

Isn't moving flights to another airport a bit of a nimbyish answer to the problem- unless you can find an airport with approaches that don't go over any populated areas. I grew up in Kent and found that the aircraft noise was just as bad as anything I've noticed here courtesy of Gatwick airport.

[mattindulwich18]

I have just realised today how bad the planes are here, I bought my flat last year and today I have really felt this horrendous noise...I am sick of it, can nothing be done?

[????]

Don't travel on a plane, don't do business with anyone who does and don't buy anything airfreighted...if not, shut up

[louisiana]

Margot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> It's true. I went for a walk in Beckenham Park and

> heard planes. Then another time went down to Kent

> and still heard planes, and when I went to an open

> air theatre production in Hertfordshire,I could

> also hear planes, although not quite as loud.

> Where can you escape them? If you move to Suffolk,

> you have Stanstead, down to Brighton and you have

> Gatwick, off to the west country and you have

> Bristol and Exeter airport.

And a lot of military flights too, which are very low level and very loud.

[mattindulwich18]

maybe because I am tired and sensitive today and that is why the planes are bugging me.

[louisiana]

Major aircraft noise this morning at 6.23am, again at 6.24, and again at 6.26.

Then another - higher - aircraft around 6.42, and then 6.46 (flying lower) and 6.48. In fact, they're coming thick and fast. I never knew they started so early!

I wonder whether this has contributed to some of my early wake-ups recently.

(We also have majorly increased water pressure, resulting in pipe screeching when neighbour gets up at 5am to fill water containers(!)

[Siduhe]

The first planes in the morning over ED start at 4:40am if you can believe that. There are, in theory, restrictions as to the number and types of planes which can fly over residential areas in London between 4:30am and 6am, but one of the councils (Hammersmith I think) recently tried to enforce this against the Government and lost.

In my experience, there's normally three or four planes which come over between 4:45 and 5:15 am (big long haul overnight flights) then a break, then a rush at 6:15am as described above for the shorter early morning flights. I've pretty much got used to it now, and as others have said, it seems to be month on/month off in terms of whether ED is on the approach path or not.

[BettyLicious]

When I first moved to ED 3 years ago I noticed the noise a lot. I thought it had died down and heard a rumour that they are changing the routes frequently. Just over a month ago I get woken up every morning at 5am but I don't really notice it during the day. I contacted Gatwick airport about it 3 years ago and they claimed they had no routes going via ED and that I should contact Heathrow. I never did and the noise seemed to have stopped but maybe it's just me noticing it on and off...?

[linzkg]

we were watching the olympics this morning and the all important announcement came out about the ladies martial arts issue .. and along came a plane! .. thankfully he waffled on for a bit so we didn't miss much.. and sure enough ANOTHER plane came along .. so we missed the all important part - the decision!

he must have spoken all of a couple of minutes - and 2 planes came over head - i was very put out!