Hillingdon Council is urging residents to have their say on proposals for new noise mitigation schemes which will impact on the borough.

Launching a three-month consultation, BAA has set out proposals which will change the flight patterns at Heathrow Airport. The council believes this will lead to more take offs and landings, more noise and more pollution and impact on the lives of local people and affect their quality of life. As a result, the council is opposing the proposals.

Leader of the Council, Ray Puddifoot said: "Once again, despite BAA's Chief Executive Officer giving reassurances that the schemes will be simple to understand, the consultation is a highly complex and technical document that requires four pages of explanatory notes."


Cllr Puddifoot added: "There is no sound argument for ending the Cranford Agreement. This has been in place since the 1950s when there were far fewer aircraft taking-off from Heathrow Airport. It is madness that in the modern age, with many more flights, there is a proposal to end this agreement which has brought some relief to local residents."

The main points of the proposals are:

• The ending of the Cranford Agreement - An agreement introduced in the 1950s to limit the number of easterly take-offs over the village of Cranford
• The possibility of building of a large noise barrier around the perimeter of the airport
• Changes to existing noise boundaries
• The introduction of new noise mitigation schemes

(CD/KMcA)