6 August 2018

H&F calls for help to fight blight of London Heliport noise

A unique study has found that Fulham residents’ health could be at risk from the noise of helicopter flights.

Categories:
Environment

Noise from helicopters affects residents in Fulham and beyond

A unique study has found that Fulham residents’ health could be at risk from the noise of flights in and out of London Heliport in Battersea.

The study, carried out by acoustics experts from London South Bank University, found that Hammersmith & Fulham residents living close to the Thames opposite the Heliport regularly suffer noise disturbance that exceeds World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended limits.

H&F Council is now joining with neighbouring boroughs Wandsworth and Kensington and Chelsea, to call on the heliport to do more to help residents affected by the noise.

“The results of this study confirm what residents in Fulham, and even further north in the borough, have long been telling us – this heliport is a blight on their lives,” said Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for Environment.

“It leaves us little choice but to lobby for stricter regulations on noise levels and volume of flights, so that we can better protect our residents’ standards of living.”

Urging action

H&F Council has asked the Mayor of London to take action to help reduce the impact of the heliport on residents’ lives.

The council has called on the Mayor to:

Work with the Heliport and boroughs to identify action that can be taken to reduce the impacts of helicopter movements across London.
Work with other interested organisations to raise the environmental performance standards of helicopters.
Consider seeking powers to limit the overall number of helicopter movements in London’s airspace, to manage their environmental impacts, particularly in relation to noise.

Ground-breaking study

The study, the first of its kind in the UK, took place over a five-month period last year, monitoring noise levels from two points in H&F: one on the riverside and one further away; and one riverside location in each of the other two boroughs.

The study’s results will be used by H&F and the other two boroughs, which are all represented on the London Heliport Consultative Group, to seek improvements in noise levels at the heliport.

One way to do this is by developing a noise action plan to manage noise from helicopters. Previously, the government has advised the group there was no statutory requirement for the heliport to prepare an action plan, partly due to a lack of data. So the noise study, by providing new data, offers an opportunity to look at developing a UK model for a heliport noise action plan.

The London Heliport Consultative Group is formed of councillors and residents. It receives reports and complaints from residents on private helicopter movements in and out of the London Heliport.