Noise and environmental pollution from increased private jet traffic using Farnborough Airport.


Farnborough Airport Expansion Plans
– an update from Churt Parish Council
21st September 2023

At the Council meeting held on September 20th the Parish Council resolved to make a formal submission to Farnborough Airport objecting to their proposals for an expansion of the airport.
The Council notes that if the requested increase in annual flight limits from 50,000 to 70,000 is permitted it would more than double the current number of flights and it would considerably enhance the noise pollution already suffered by Churt residents.
The Council also felt that the emissions from these flights (which Farnborough does not count in its own Net Zero projections) would cause significant harm to the residents, harm to the outstanding natural environment that surrounds Churt and would be a retrograde step in trying to achieve net-zero carbon emissions as well as being incompatible with the aspirations set out in Churt’s Environmental Charter: Net Zero by 2050.
The Council will publish its formal objection in due course but in the meantime urges Churt Residents to ensure your voices are heard before the consultation closes on Wednesday 18th October by:
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engaging with the consultation at https://farnboroughairport2040.com and making their own submissions to Farnborough using the on-line form.
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review information relevant to the expansion plans at Farnborough Noise Group’s website at https://www.farnboroughnoise.org/
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consider signing the petition posted by Farnborough Noise Group at https://chng.it/4YtMcS7MnF
For further information or help on how to respond please contact either Cllr Julian Spence (julian.spence@churt.org) or Cllr Myra Johnson (myra.johnson@churt.org)

Farnborough Airport Expansion Plans
– an update from Churt Parish Council
10th September 2023

Most Churt households have received a flyer from Farnborough Airport by mail this weekend regarding their expansion plans and inviting them to public consultation meetings. The changes proposed are to increase the permitted number of flights by 40% over the year with a doubling of weekend flights. Currently flight numbers are some way below the permitted maximum, so the increase will more than double current flights over the year. It is also planned to increase the size of aircraft and the hours of operation. These plans will have a significant impact on our village in terms of noise and pollution and especially for those living under the narrow flight paths introduced by recent airspace changes.
Churt Parish Council will be discussing these expansion plans at our September 20th Parish Council meeting and appropriate representations which we will make on behalf of the village in response to the consultation. Local Churt representatives from Farnborough Noise Group will be at the meeting and we will also discuss with our Waverley Councillor David Munro, who is our local representative on the Farnborough Airport Consultative Committee. We will issue a more detailed statement immediately after the meeting.
In the meantime you may wish to:
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attend the public consultation which Farnborough Airport are holding at the Farnham Maltings on 21st September from 4pm to 8pm (as detailed in the flyer which they have sent you)
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review information relevant to the expansion plans at Farnborough Noise Group’s website at https://www.farnboroughnoise.org/
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consider signing the petition posted by Farnborough Noise Group at https://chng.it/4YtMcS7MnF
Information on Farnborough Airport airspace changes
Newsflash 22nd June 2023
Churt Parish Council Response has now been sent to the Civil Aviation Authority
Churt Parish Council has reviewed the Post Implementation Review report submitted to the CAA and has considered representations from the Farnborough Noise Group and the Churt Airspace Change Working Group, as well as individual residents of Churt. We endorse the summary findings in Part 1 of the Farnborough Noise Group paper and, additionally, have made Churt specific comments as our response to the PIR, covering the following topics:
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Consultation with Churt
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Complaints from Churt
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The Churt Gate and Standard Arrival Route (STAR)
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Low Altitude Flying
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Noise
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Respite and Dispersion
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Air Quality
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Biodiversity
Summary Conclusion:
Churt Parish Council does not believe that a comprehensive PIR has been undertaken.
We call upon the CAA to amend the previous changes made, and to create a more sympathetic and less disruptive change.
Download the full text of the Churt Parish Council response to the PIR
Post Implementation Review published.
Feedback window open until 26 June.
Most Churt residents have noticed the massive increase in low-flying aircraft and associated noise since the end of the Covid pandemic. A Farnborough Airport airspace change proposal was approved by the Civil Aviation Authority on 10th July 2018 and was implemented on 27th February 2020.
In April 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) started a review of the airspace changes new flightpaths. These new flightpaths are shown in the diagram below.
Farnborough Airport’s Airspace Change Post Implementation Review (PIR) report to the CAA is now published and can be accessed here on the Civil Aviation Authority’s website.
Download the July 2023 newsletter from the Farnborough Noise Group
Download the May 2023 newsletter from the Farnborough Noise Group
Download the April 2023 newsletter from the Farnborough Noise Group
Download the slides presented at the public meeting held at Churt Village Hall on 20 September 202
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The main document and appendices are linked separately from the CAA portal – for convenience the individual links are listed below.
Sponsor's Post-Implementation Review analysis: 15th May 2023
Annex D is ‘Stakeholder Feedback and Complaints’ with the Appendix to Annex D publishing redacted versions of the complaints received from Churt residents and other communities.The conclusions included in this report on complaints are:
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Complaints during the data gathering period show an increase over the historic pre Airspace Change Proposal (ACP) numbers and are reflective of a change taking place.
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It has not been possible to infer if this increase was influenced by the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the abrupt stopping, and subsequent resumption, of air traffic overflight. It is possible that perception of noise and awareness was heightened because of a cessation of air traffic for a significant period in 2020.
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It is evident that there are now more people in the local area that are aware of the noise generated by flights into and out of the airport, or that those who were already aware are undertaking additional complaint submission.
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The ability for stakeholders to present feedback (separate from the complaint process) on this ACP was widely publicised and encouraged by FAL and a small number of stakeholders made use of this facility.
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No information in any of the emails provided evidence of an impact that had not been foreseen and articulated in the previous documentation/consultations during the CAP725 process.
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In the consultations we illustrated where we predicted areas of flightpath narrowing were most likely to occur, we received consultation feedback, we amended the airspace design, we provided appropriate charts and diagrams of our subsequent predictions and we have now compared those predictions with actual flight data in the separate document ‘Annex A Farnborough PIR Traffic Dispersion and Environmental Overflight Diagrams’.
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The number of complaints has increased from before the implementation of this ACP. The feedback and complaints received during the data gathering period reflect the impacts on those overflown.
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There is no positive feedback from places where previous regular overflight was reduced or removed.
Now that the PIR has been published into the public domain, it means that anyone can provide feedback and a window of 42 days is now open to do so. The deadline for responses to Farnborough Airport’s report is 26th June. Our South West Surrey MP, Jeremy Hunt has committed to provide feedback as a stakeholder within the 42 day window period.
Overall, the PIR report is 417 pages. Farnborough Noise Group shared some initial comments in their May newsletter which is linked from this webpage. They have now reviewed the document and their evaluation of the PIR response submitted to the CAA is also linked at the top of this webpage. The local Churt Airspace Change Group have also reviewed the PIR report and their evaluation is also linked at the top of this webpage, as will any other representations made to Churt Parish Council on behalf of local groups. Following review and discussion of the PIR and both of these evaluations, Churt Parish Council has sent a representation on behalf of the village of Churt to the CAA on 22nd June, following ratification at the June Parish Council meeting.
For more details on the airspace change, you can read a paper written by Colin Shearn in 2021