Maidenhead & Windsor

The Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough has joined forces with other local authorities to call for the immediate publication of a study measuring the impact of aircraft noise on people's lives.

Windsor and Maidenhead – along with the other local authorities which make up the 2M group campaigning against the expansion of Heathrow – is urging transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick to publish as a matter of urgency the key six-year study, scheduled to be used as part of the impending consultation on a third runway.

The Attitudes to Noise from Aviation Sources in England study (ANASE) was instigated in 2001 to update the previous study carried out nearly 20 years earlier in 1982 – and described by the then transport minister Bob Ainsworth as "underpinning our policy on aircraft noise by substantial research that commands the widest possible confidence".

The 2M group (so called because it is made up of councils representing two million people who live around Heathrow) sought assurances from the current transport minister that the study's findings would be made available as part of the consultation.

Following the minister's declaration that the consultation could go ahead without the study, the 2M group is now campaigning for the study's immediate release.

Cllr David Burbage, Windsor and Maidenhead council leader, said: "We are determined to press the minister to release the findings of this important study before the start of the consultation on the third runway.

"This is the first major noise study for more than 20 years, and will provide vital new evidence of modern-day attitudes to noise. It is unthinkable that it could be 'buried' just at the time when ministers are about to unveil plans for the biggest expansion of Heathrow since Terminal Five, which in itself was supposed to be the last."

The government will publish a consultation document later this year confirming that, in its view, a third runway would, subject to certain conditions, meet EU noise and air quality tests. The same consultation will also include plans for making increased use of the two existing runways before adding a third runway in 2015.

The number of flights at the airport could go up from the current annual limit of 480,000 to near 800,000. The increase is equivalent to building a new airport at least the size of Gatwick.

Windsor and Maidenhead Cllr Burbage added: "Anyone who lives in the area and under the flight paths is well aware of the intolerable situation that has been permitted to develop over the years as a result of successive developments, broken promises and the continued growth in aircraft movements.

"What 'might' have been acceptable more than 20 years ago is not acceptable in 2007. This study confirms that the levels of annoyance being caused by current noise levels and the ever-increasing frequency of movements have now surpassed any standards of acceptance and the report must be released prior to any further deliberations. Not to do so is tantamount to public deception and shows disregard of outrageous proportions."

The 2M group comprises the London Boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kensington and Chelsea, Merton, Richmond and Wandsworth. Authorities outside London include Slough, South Bucks, Spelthorne and Windsor and Maidenhead.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead