London Luton Airport holds public talks on noise from 19 to 22 October, including who qualifies for its insulation scheme. You have to book a place.

London Luton Airport is holding four days of public talks on aircraft noise next week. Airspace and Noise Week runs from Monday 19 to Thursday 22 October, and anyone can attend, but you have to book a place first.

One session explains the airport’s Noise Insulation Scheme, which provides double glazing, ventilation and loft insulation in homes and buildings under the busiest flight path. Another covers community grants. The rest are about how the airport, air traffic control and pilots run flights over the town.

The airport announced the week on its website.

The quick answer

What: free public talks at London Luton Airport, each followed by questions. When: Monday 19 to Thursday 22 October, a morning and an afternoon session each day. How: book a place on the airport’s form. The airport then emails you parking, public transport and venue instructions. Most useful session for residents: the Noise Insulation Scheme, on the morning of Tuesday 20 October.

The programme

Day Morning Afternoon
Mon 19 Oct How the airport operates Measuring aircraft noise
Tue 20 Oct Noise Insulation Scheme Community Trust Fund grants
Wed 21 Oct Operations from air traffic control Operations from the pilot’s seat
Thu 22 Oct How the airport operates The future of aircraft

Source: London Luton Airport. Explore Luton’s listing gives the hours as 10am to 4pm each day.

The airport says who is speaking at each session:

  • How the airport operates: the airport’s flight operations team, on westerly and easterly operations, the noise preferential routes aircraft must follow, noise monitoring and the limits in place. It will also outline the UK Airspace Design Service.
  • Measuring aircraft noise: Bickerdike Allen Partners, the airport’s independent noise consultants, on how noise is measured, analysed and reported.
  • Noise Insulation Scheme: Evander Glazing and Locks, the contractor that carries out the work.
  • Community Trust Fund: the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation, on its grants.
  • Air traffic control: NATS controllers from the Luton tower and from its Swanwick control centre.
  • The pilot’s view: airline pilots who fly in and out of Luton, on approaches, weather and the busy airspace around the airport.
  • The future of aircraft: Cranfield University, on aircraft design and sustainable aviation.

Who can get noise insulation

The scheme covers homes and non-residential buildings inside the airport’s noise contour. That is a line on a map joining places exposed to the same level of aircraft noise. The airport uses its forecast 2023 contour, which it says is fixed until 2028 so that “everyone affected by the worst-case scenario” can be treated (scheme leaflet, PDF).

The map in the leaflet shows a narrow band along the line of the runway. It starts at the M1 by Stockwood Park and junction 10, passes Luton Airport Parkway station and the airport, and runs east over Breachwood Green to near Whitwell. Breachwood Green and Whitwell are villages in North Hertfordshire, east of the airport.

What the scheme can provide, depending on what a building already has:

  • double glazing
  • secondary glazing
  • ventilation units, so windows can stay shut
  • loft insulation

Living rooms, dining rooms, kitchen-diners and bedrooms qualify. Kitchens, bathrooms, conservatories, stairways, halls and landings do not.

The airport’s scheme page says it has recently increased the annual budget. It does not say by how much.

How it works

  1. Independent noise specialists decide each year which properties are eligible.
  2. A sub-committee of the London Luton Airport Consultative Committee sets the order they are offered in.
  3. The airport writes to the owners it has selected that year.
  4. Owners have 30 days to accept. Anyone who declines must say so in writing, and will be asked again in five years.
  5. The contractor surveys the property. Once the airport approves the work, it is booked at a time that suits the owner.

The leaflet says the work should take no longer than four months from the first appointment.

What it means for you

  • If you live near the flight path and have heard nothing, the leaflet says to get in touch: email Noise.Insulation@ltn.aero or call 01582 395382. The airport says every eligible home in the contour has been contacted, and that it will review anyone who believes they were missed.
  • If you rent, only your landlord can accept the work. Pass any letter on to them.
  • Watch for cold callers. Evander Glazing and Locks is the only company contacting properties for the scheme. The airport says any other firm that gets in touch is not part of it.
  • If you run a club or charity, the Tuesday afternoon session explains Community Trust Fund grants. They are open to projects helping people in Luton, Central Bedfordshire, North Hertfordshire, Stevenage, St Albans district and the Aylesbury Vale area.
  • If your complaint is about a particular flight, the Monday and Thursday sessions on routes and noise monitoring are the place to ask.

For other airport news, see our reports on the premium parking plan for the drop-off zone and the airport’s solar farm. Decisions on planning applications across the borough are on our Luton planning news page.

Sources