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Gatwick Noise Management Board (NMB)

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Gatwick Arrivals Review published 23rd January 2016, led by Bo Redeborn and Graham Lake made 23 recommendations to Gatwick Airport Ltd (GAL)

 

Formation of a Noise Management Board (NMB) was one of the recommendations that GAL upheld and is now in operation.  

 

During the early part of 2016 ESCCAN worked alogside other community groups and councils to ensure East Sussex had representation on the NMB.  ESCCAN spokeman Dominic Nevill said,

 

"We know that there are caveats in the Arrivals Review response eg: Gatwick being 'minded to' rather than full commitment on some points etc, but we feel at this stage that we will find out pretty quickly whether the commitment to change is genuine or not. We have come a long way in the last two years but we still appreciate the need to ensure that the Noise Management Board does not simply become a facade for Gatwick to appear to the outside world as though they are being a good neighbour rather than really affecting positive changes for the communities who suffer air noise and pollution."

 

The NMB came to an end in May 2019 having achieved very little in the last 2 years.    Click on the link button above to read all the past meeting minutes.

Click HERE for current news

NEW Noise Management Executive Board - October 2020

 

The previous NMB was reconfigured into three separate parts with new Chairs.

 

The NMB’s Community Forum met in September. Martin from GON said this,

 

"In our view too much of the meeting was spent being briefed on the state of the aviation industry and too little on agreeing meaningful medium term noise reduction initiatives.  I’ve told the Chair that we are disappointed with the Forum’s progress to date and urged him to ensure that it has a laser like focus on community concerns and noise reduction initiatives going forward, not on industry briefings".  

 

The new Noise Management Executive Board had it's first meeting 21 October, having been delayed from March. Martin from GON reported,

 

"Community groups were represented by Charles Lloyd and Atholl Forbes, who we elected earlier this year.  They proposed a series of agreed actions intended to reduce noise impacts for all communities around the airport and under flight paths.  These included eliminating night flights, putting in place a new low noise standard for arrivals and a league table to monitor airline performance, reducing the noise levels at which departures are fined and taking action to reduce early deployment of landing gear which increases noise.  Many of their proposals were supported by the two council representatives on the Board.

 

Disappointingly there was little reaction from the airport itself and other industry members of the board and it was not possible to agree a firm work plan.  They are encouraging the chairman to make sure a plan is finalised as soon as possible so that real work can get underway.

 

Overall the new NMB’s progress has been too slow so far and we’re now at a critical stage.  It needs to agree a work plan very soon, based on the ideas submitted by community groups and endorsed by councils, and then deliver it with energy and determination.  The chairs need to step up, sweep aside the current inertia and make sure the industry builds back rather more quietly."

 

They had their annual public event on 3rd December.   See the minutes of the meeting HERE

 

The NMB can be contacted by emailing: [email protected]

 

cosma