Make A Noise - Say No to Heathrow Expansion Event

March, Rally and Carnival May 31st
12 noon: Hatton Cross Underground Station
12.30pm: March moves off

March via the Heathrow Perimeter Road and Bath Road (about 21/2 miles)*
2.00pm (approx): March arrives at Sipson Recreation Ground ( Sipson Way) for rally and speeches

We will be looking to create the biggest NO in the world
3.00/3.30pm (approx): Finish

The main road in Sipson will be closed off. There will be stalls, food, drink and plenty for the children, ranging from bouncy castles to face-painting
There will be special buses to ferry people back to the tube and rail stations
Check out the special website

A Fun Event with a Serious Purpose

The Government expects to make its decision about Heathrow expansion in the Summer. This is our big chance to show the extent of the opposition. We expect this to be the biggest demonstration against expansion in Heathrow’s history
It will be all legal and peaceful but thousands of people marching will send a powerful message to the Government

Join us!

* There will be transport for those who feel they cannot walk that far.

Reminder for Objections - Deadline Tomorrow

The deadline for Newham Planning Department to receive objections for the proposed flight expansion at London City Airport is tomorrow - 7 May.

You can email your objections to Sunil, the LB Newham Planning Officer whose details are listed to the side of this page. We recommend that you ask for an acknowledgement of receipt if using email.

You can find all the other information regarding the application here.

Please also sign the FTF 10 Downing Street petition as it also closes in the next few days.

PR Employee Shows Contempt For Objecting Residents

Just in the last few days our attention was drawn to an extraordinary online blog article written by a self claimed PR employee of London City Airport (but who claims the blog is not endorsed by LCA), which attacks residents who dare to object to the LCA expansion application. It seems growing objectors have caused them considerable anxiety.

It is difficult to believe that the blog has not been written by somebody who is interested in doing PR on behalf of the airport. It comes across as a well-written piece of marketing for the airport. It makes no real attempt to respond to the arguments on this website. And it certainly doesn’t show any understanding of where local people are coming from.

They attack those that live or have moved into the area: Of course those of us who have moved into the area in recent years knew of the existence of the airport but there was no way we could have foreseen that the owners of the airport would want to go for such a huge increase in the number of flights. The impact on residents will be widespread. It will affect people living many miles from City Airport . Already there are people in South East London and parts of North London complaining about the growing impact of City Airport aircraft.

The economic impact of the airport is more complex than has been suggested. Investment is just about anything creates jobs but if the downsides of the development become so severe it can harm the attractiveness of an area to business.

We need an independent study to look at whether an expanded airport – with all that means in terms of noise and pollution – is really in the economic interest of the Thames Gateway area.

LCA Look to CLOPUD - For Defence or Justification?

Certificates of Proposed Use and Development (CLOPUD).

Applying for a CLOPUD enables a person to ascertain whether any proposed use of the land or buildings or any operations carried out thereon would be lawful. If the proposed use does not constitute development, or if it does but is permitted development, then the certificate should be granted.

An act of desperation in the light of growing calls for a PUBLIC INQUIRY.

Whisper - We thought it was a chocolate bar - but its just more spin!

When London City Airport mentions 'whisper jet' in its documents of spin, which they occasionally prepare for a handful of residents,you can be sure that 'whisper' it won't be!

The 'whisper jet' LCA are referring to is in fact the BAe146. For those that live around the airport and under the flight path you will know that the term 'whisper' and this jet are not in any way related nor present at the same time. It's the sort of statement that the Advertising Standards Authority have been asked to look into before. You see it wouldn't be the first time that aviation bods have had their wrists slapped for making statements about planes being 'quieter' without any evidence to support the claim. Clearly LCA in turn like to bandy around these words of spin to try and con communities and residents into thinking these noisier jets won't be noisier at all! So what comparison makes these jets a 'whisper jet' - concorde? LCA really do think that residents will be swayed by such terms as 'whisper jets' , oh dear, do we need to tell them where they are going wrong again?

So the bad news for residents is that LCA are introducing more and more 'whisper jets' (along with other Category A jets - all of which are noisier than those in the past) and that is probably why the noise levels experienced in the areas have already noticeably increased. And just in case you want to know just how much these Whisper jets measure - here's NATs noise contour for this aircraft - says it all really. PAGE 15 indicates a nice whispering 80-90dbs.

Personally we'd rather have the chocolate bar.

LCA are now so discredited by their consistent feeding of inaccurate and misleading statements and of them being revealed without any great effort, that LCA must be becoming a real embarassment for their shareholders. Oh deary, deary. It's all such a mess.