The Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement Consultation on 3rd Runway

29/08/2026

If the Government approves this revised National Policy Statement, Heathrow will the carry out its own detailed consultation before submitting a proposal for a third runway to a Public Inquiry. You can view the Government’s draft National Policy Statement on the Department of Transport’s website.

Below is the HACAN East response concentrating on the possible impacts on the area we cover.

Response from HACAN East

HACAN East gives a voice to residents under the London City and Heathrow flight paths. We cover areas in East, North East and South East London. We are the sister organisation of HACAN, which helped set us up. We now operate independently from HACAN.

In our response will concentrate on the proposals and options as they may affect the geographical areas we cover.

Our Area

Much of our area is overflown by both Heathrow and London City aircraft. The Heathrow aircraft are mainly arrivals. They are at approximate heights of:

· 6,000ft over Walthamstow and Leytonstone

· 5,000ft over Greenwich

· 4,000ft over the Oval.

London City aircraft fly a lot lower, often held down by the Heathrow airspace above.

The Current Situation

A key factor which has worsened the noise climate in recent years was the concentration of London City flight paths. London City concentrated all its flight paths in 2016. No respite was provided. The result has been that fewer people are overflown than previously but, those who are, are much worse off. Complaints jumped almost fivefold within a year.

Our comments on the National Policy Statement Consultation

Respite

We welcome the commitment to respite in the statement. We have a number of suggestions to make it as effective as possible for residents:

· There should be several rotating routes;

· These routes should be as far apart from each other as possible;

· The respite routes should go out to at least 7,000ft;

· Respite from Heathrow planes and London City planes should be coordinated.

Heights

The recent guidance to the CAA and UKADS that noise should only be prioritised up to 5,000 ft is a bitter blow to many of our supporters and does not tally with reality, particularly in light of the recent reports, ANAS and ANNE, which showed that people get annoyed by aircraft noise at lower levels than previously acknowledged. The National Policy Statement gives the Government the opportunity to reverse its guidance to the CAA and UKADS.

Numbers Impacted

We welcome the clear recognition that noise from Heathrow planes impacts more households than any other airport in Europe. We have three comments:

It would be useful to convert that into actual number of people
The figures need to be revised in the light of the ANAS Report
Figures need to be produced of the number of people impacted by both Heathrow and London City

Night Flights

The requirement of a six and a half break is insufficient.

Timing

Noise measures to assist residents need to become operational from the opening day of any new runway.

DID YOU KNOW

• LCY already have permission for 111,000 flights per year; up to 592 flights per weekday

• LCY have 5 noise monitors close to the airport and 1 in SE28; the only monitor south of the river. You can access these monitors to see the noise measurement an aircraft from ANY airport creates as it flies over. https://webtrak.emsbk.com/lcy

• London is the most overflown city in the world, with 6 London airports (LCY, Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Southend). We also hear long haul planes that overfly the UK

• Home buyers can research if your home is under a concentrated flight path, which could jeopardise your house sale

• A concentrated flight path (first introduced in 2016) means all aircraft follow the same route; like a motorway. It means there is no escape if you live under it. The routes will be reviewed in 2026. If you want your views heard, keep following HACAN East

• 16 London boroughs live under the concentrated flight paths of LCY

• LCY does not communicate with all those under their flight paths when they want to make changes that affect us, so our views often go unheard

In the UK there are over 50 campaign groups against airport noise, pollution and expansion. Every major country also have campaign groups. We are not alone.

• International studies have identified how aircraft noise and pollution impacts health; sleep deprivation, stress, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, dementia, etc

• LCY is in the London Borough of Newham, who have approved all previous expansion planning applications. However, Newham Council have rejected the latest application for more early morning flights and flights till 7:30pm on a Saturday

• There are several free apps you can download to monitor all the aircraft in your area. FlightRadar24 shows you which operator, height, time, date, etc. you’ll realise that not all noisy aircraft relate to LCY

• There is a free app you can download called Explane. It measures the decibels of one aircraft overhead. It also records which operator, height, time, date, etc. you can submit the information to an international database.

• Although you may record 75-80 decibels of noise from a single aircraft, the Civil Aviation Authority allows airports to average out the sound over 16 hours (7am-11pm) so it reduces the appearance of the impact on Londoners

• LCY suggest that when new generation aircraft finally come to the airport, they will be 5 decibels quieter. Scientists have proved that the human ear will not be able to detect any decrease in noise

• Your voice can be heard at the quarterly LCY Consultative Committee attended by HACAN East

Consultations

HACAN East

DID YOU KNOW