Heathrow Airport Limited Heathrow’s North-West Runway Air and Ground Noise Assessment 18 June 2014 AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited 1 Copyright and Non-Disclosure Notice The contents and layout of this report are subject to copyright owned by AMEC (©AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited 2014). save to the extent that copyright has been legally assigned by us to another party or is used by AMEC under licence. To the extent that we own the copyright in this report, it may not be copied or used without our prior written agreement for any purpose other than the purpose indicated in this report. The methodology (if any) contained in this report is provided to you in confidence and must not be disclosed or copied to third parties without the prior written agreement of AMEC. Disclosure of that information may constitute an actionable breach of confidence or may otherwise prejudice our commercial interests. Any third party who obtains access to this report by any means will, in any event, be subject to the Third Party Disclaimer set out below. Third-Party Disclaimer Any disclosure of this report to a third party is subject to this disclaimer. The report was prepared by AMEC at the instruction of, and for use by, our client named on the front of the report. It does not in any way constitute advice to any third party who is able to access it by any means. AMEC excludes to the fullest extent lawfully permitted all liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever arising from reliance on the contents of this report. We do not however exclude our liability (if any) for personal injury or death resulting from our negligence, for fraud or any other matter in relation to which we cannot legally exclude liability. © AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Heathrow’s North-West Runway – Air and Ground Noise Assessment i Glossary and Abbreviations AC Airports Commission ANASE Attitudes to Noise from Aviation Sources in England Study ANCON ANCON is the CAA’s UK civil aviation aircraft noise contour model. It is developed to international standards and incorporates noise measurements and radar track information obtained from the London airports including Heathrow. APF Aviation Policy Framework APU Auxiliary Power Unit ASAS Airport Surface Access Strategy ATM Air Traffic Movement CAA Civil Aviation Authority CACI CACI are a company that prepare demographic datasets CCD Continuous Climb Departures CDA Continuous Descent Approach CDM Collaborative Decision Making D Departing (i.e. the runway is used for departing aircraft only) DALY Disability Adjusted Life Years Defra Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs DfT Department for Transport DL Departure-Landing (i.e. the runway is used for departures and landings at the same time) DMRB Design Manual for Roads and Bridges DW Disability Weighting EGR Engine Ground Running ERCD The CAA’s Environmental Research and Consultancy Department FEGP Fixed Electrical Ground Power G2 Generation 2 aircraft as defined by Sustainable Aviation GPU Ground Power Unit GRE Ground Running Enclosure HP Hedonic Pricing ICAO International Civil Aviation Organisation IGCB Interdepartmental Group on Cost and Benefits of Noise INM Integrated Noise Model – this is an aircraft noise modelling tool that is used internationally to assess noise from airports. It is developed by the Federal Aviation Administration and is designed to comply with the latest international standards. The model is developed using certified aircraft noise emission data and industry recognised flight procedures. © AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Heathrow’s North-West Runway – Air and Ground Noise Assessment ii L Landing (i.e. the runway is used for landing aircraft only) LAeq, 16hr Equivalent continuous sound level of aircraft noise in dB during an average summer day. For conventional historical contours this is based on the daily average movements that take place in the 16 hour period (0700-2259 hrs local time) during the 92 day period between the 16 June and 15 September inclusive. LAeq, 8hr night Equivalent continuous sound level of aircraft noise in dB during an average summer night. The indicator uses average movements that take place during an 8 hour night-time period (0230-0659 hrs local time) during the 92 day period between the 16 June and 15 September inclusive. LBH London Borough of Hillingdon Lden The day, evening, night level, Lden is a composite of a 12-hour annual average daytime noise level (Lday), a 4-hour annual average evening noise level (Levening) with a penalty of 5 dB added, and an 8-hour annual average night-time noise level (Lnight) with a penalty of 10 dB added. mppa Million Passengers Per Annum N60 (night-time) N70 (daytime) NIR Noise Insulation Regulations nmi Nautical Mile NPPF National Planning Policy Framework NPSE Noise Policy Statement for England OS Ordnance Survey PBN Precision-Based Navigation PCA Pre-Conditioned Air SA Sustainable Aviation SAF The Airports Commission’s Sustainability Appraisal Framework SP Stated Preference TAAM Total Airspace and Airport Modeller WHO World Health Organisation WTP Willingness to Pay © AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Heathrow’s North-West Runway – Air and Ground Noise Assessment iii Contents 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Requirements of the Airports Commission 2 1.3 Scope of the Work 2 1.3.1 Aircraft Noise 2 1.3.2 Ground Noise 3 1.4 Heathrow’s Objectives 3 2. Legislative and Policy Context 5 2.1 Aviation Legislation 5 2.2 Environmental Noise Legislation 6 2.3 Policy Context 6 2.4 General Guidance 8 3. Existing Noise Conditions around Heathrow 9 3.1 Description of Baseline Conditions 9 3.2 Use of the Baseline Data 11 4. Mitigation Strategy 13 4.1 Quieter Planes – Fleet Assumptions 14 4.2 Quieter Airport Design 16 4.2.1 Masterplan Optimisation 16 4.2.2 Displacing the Runway Threshold 16 4.3 Quieter Operations 17 4.3.1 Continuous Decent Approaches (CDA) 19 4.3.2 Steeper Approaches 19 4.3.3 Night Flights 20 4.4 Quieter Skies – Airspace Options 20 4.4.1 Option T: Minimise the TOTAL number of people overflown 23 4.4.2 Option N: Minimise the number of NEW people overflown 25 4.4.3 Option R: Maximise RESPITE 27 4.5 Ground Noise 30 4.5.1 Aircraft Ground Noise 30 © AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Heathrow’s North-West Runway – Air and Ground Noise Assessment iv 4.5.2 Road Traffic Noise 31 4.6 Insulation and Compensation 33 5. Assessment Methodology 35 5.1 Key Assumptions for Assessment 35 5.2 Assessment Scenarios 36 5.2.1 Aircraft Noise 36 5.2.2 Road Traffic Noise 37 5.3 Noise Modelling 37 5.3.1 Aircraft Noise 37 5.3.2 Ground Noise 40 5.4 Aircraft Noise Assessment 40 5.4.1 Population Affected by Noise 40 5.4.2 Assessment of Changes in Noise Exposure 41 5.4.3 Assessment of Respite 41 5.4.4 Monetisation – Health, Annoyance and Social Cost 43 5.5 Ground Noise Assessment 43 5.5.1 Aircraft Ground Noise 43 5.5.2 Road Traffic Noise 44 6. Evidence for Key Findings 46 6.1 Noise Scorecard 46 6.2 Further Evidence for ‘Taking Britain Further’ 48 6.2.1 The Number of People affected by Noise will be less than Today 48 6.3 Ground Noise 66 6.3.1 Aircraft Ground Noise 66 6.3.2 Road Traffic Noise 67 7. Conclusions 69 © AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Heathrow’s North-West Runway – Air and Ground Noise Assessment v Table 4.1 Key for Airspace Options 22 Table 5.1 Key Assumptions for Assessment 35 Table 5.3 Comparison of Contour Areas between ANCON and INM 39 Table 5.4 Noise Exposure Metrics considered within Assessment 41 Table 6.1 Noise Measurement Scorecard – Population Exposure – ANCON Outputs 46 Table 6.2 Population Changes Against Baseline Year for the 57 dB LAeq, 16hr – INM Results 49 Table 6.3 Population Changes against Baseline Year for the 57 dB LAeq, 16hr – ANCON Results 50 Table 6.4 Population Changes Against Baseline Year for the 48 dB LAeq, 8hr (night) – INM Results 51 Table 6.5 Population Changes Against Baseline Year for the 50 dB LAeq, 8hr (night) – INM Results 52 Figure 3.1 Current Flight Tracks and Baseline 57 dB LAeq,16hr Noise Contour 9 Figure 3.2 Intensity of Aircraft Ground Noise 10 Figure 3.3 Road Traffic Noise 11 Figure 4.1 A Quieter Heathrow 13 Figure 4.2 Timeline Presenting Expected Approximate Entry into Service of Aircraft at Heathrow 15 Figure 4.3 Aircraft Fleet by Year 16 Figure 4.4 Benefits of Displacing the Runway Threshold and Steeper Approaches 17 Figure 4.5 Rotating Runway use to produce Alternative Operating Modes 18 Figure 4.6 Illustration of Effect on Noise Relief of Rotating the Four Operating Modes (shown for westerly operations) 18 Figure 4.7 Different Ways in which the Objective of ‘Minimising Noise’ can be Interpreted 21 Figure 4.13 Potential Locations of Roadside Noise Barriers and Low Noise Surfacing 33 Figure 5.1 Aircraft Noise Modelling and Masterplan Preparation 38 Figure 6.1 Change in Population Exposed to 57 dB LAeq, 16hr – INM Results 49 Figure 6.2 Change in Population Exposed to 57 dB LAeq, 16hr – ANCON Results 50 Figure 6.3 Change in Population Exposed to 48 dB LAeq, 8hr (night) – INM Results 52 Figure 6.4 Change in Population Exposed to 50 dB LAeq, 8hr (night) – INM Results 53 Figure 6.5 Change in LAeq, 16hr, Lden and Lnight Noise Exposure for Option T ‘Minimise Total’ 54 Figure 6.6 Change in LAeq, 16hr, Lden and Lnight Noise Exposure for Option N ‘Minimise New 55 Figure 6.7 Change in LAeq, 16hr, Lden and Lnight Noise Exposure for Option R ‘Maximum Respite’ 56 Figure 6.8 Spatial Analysis of the Proportion of Respite received during Westerly Operations for Option R 58 Figure 6.9 Spatial Analysis of the Proportion of Respite received during Easterly Operations for Option R 59 Figure 6.10 Quantitative Analysis of Respite 60 Figure 6.11 Spatial Analysis of the Number of Modes for which Areas are Overflown in Total for Option R 61 Figure 6.12 Spatial Analysis indicating the Number of Days per Year for which Areas are Overflown in Total for Option R 62 Figure 6.13 Spatial Analysis of Respite, Modes Overflown and Days Overflown for Option T 63 Figure 6.14 Quantitative Analysis of Respite for Option T 64 Figure 6.15 Spatial Analysis of Respite, Modes Overflown and Days Overflown for Option N 65 Figure 6.16 Quantitative Analysis of Respite for Option N 66 Figure 6.17 Aircraft Ground Noise Changes (LAeq,16hr) 67 Appendix A Policy, Legislation and Guidance Appendix B Existing Baseline Conditions Appendix C Fleet and Forecast Assumptions Appendix D Detailed Noise Modelling Methodologies Appendix E Air Noise Data Appendix F Ground Noise Assessments Appendix G Example Respite Calculation Appendix H Airspace Options and Modes Appendix I ERCD ANCON Modelling Technical Note Appendix J Noise Exposure Change Figures Appendix K Respite Figures © AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Heathrow’s North-West Runway – Air and Ground Noise Assessment 1 1. Introduction Background 1.1 This report has been prepared by AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited on behalf of Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL). To meet the growing need for additional air capacity, HAL has proposed an extension to the existing Airport[1]. The proposed development would include: • A 3,500m runway to the north-west of the existing Airport; • Two new terminal buildings; • Aircraft movement areas and taxiways; • Various aircraft stands (pier serviced stands and remote stands); • Car parking; and • Ancillary uses. Further details of the development can be found in Heathrow’s submission to the Airports Commission. This report provides the technical assessment and the details underlying Part 5.2 A Quieter Heathrow presented in Volume 1 of HAL’s submission to the Airports Commission1. The assessment of potential effects with and without mitigation was undertaken in accordance with the Commission’s Sustainability Appraisal Framework (SAF) as described below[2]. The technical content of the report relates to air and ground noise. In order to address the Commission’s requirements, Section 2 of the report describes the legislative and policy context relevant to the assessment. Section 3 describes the current baseline noise conditions around Heathrow Airport. Section 4 presents an outline, and where necessary, expands on the Mitigation Strategy for noise as presented in Part 5.2 of Heathrow’s May 2014 submission to the Airports Commission[1]. Section 5 describes the assessment methodologies adopted for the assessment of impacts. The results of these assessments are presented in Section 6 and conclusions are given in Section 7. The appendices to this document provide detailed assessment methods, technical information and assessment outputs. [1] Heathrow (2014) Taking Britain further – Heathrow’s plan for connecting the UK to growth [2] Airports Commission (2014) Appraisal Framework. April 2014. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/300223/airports-commission-appraisal-framework.pdf © AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Heathrow’s North-West Runway – Air and Ground Noise Assessment 2 Requirements of the Airports Commission 1.2 The Airports Commission’s Sustainability Appraisal Framework (SAF) states that the following should be demonstrated with respect to aircraft noise: • Details of mitigation strategies that can be put in place to mitigate the impacts upon populations affected by noise such as respite regimes; • Identification of any night-noise implications and details of strategies to mitigate night-noise; and • A description of impacts on designated sites, heritage sites and tranquillity, along with strategies to mitigate these impacts. The Commission state that the appraisal should: • Be underpinned by detailed noise contour maps based on a selection of average and frequency based noise measures; • Be assessed based on net impact i.e. considering the absolute number of population affected above stated thresholds of noise; • Be assessed at local level considering background noise levels; • Be considerate to noise from aircraft on the ground, from sources such as taxiing, APUs, hold and engine testing (known as aircraft ground noise); • Consider noise from surface access road traffic; • Identify changes in areas of land, numbers of people and other amenities either newly exposed or removed from noise exposure thresholds; and • Identify the costs and benefits of a scheme’s impact through a monetisation taking into account effects on annoyance, sleep disturbance and quality of life. The appraisal supports the Airports Commission’s objective which is to: “minimise and where possible reduce noise impacts”. Scope of the Work 1.3 Aircraft Noise 1.3.1 The aircraft noise assessment has considered the noise generated by aircraft in flight-related phases (including start- of-roll and reverse thrust). The scope of work has included: © AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Heathrow’s North-West Runway – Air and Ground Noise Assessment 3 • Development of a Mitigation Strategy appropriate to the development of a third runway located to the NW of the airport that is an evolution of the July 2013 proposals. The Mitigation Strategy has considered: - Encouraging the development and adoption of quieter planes; - Optimising the masterplan infrastructure; - Implementation of new procedures; and - Development of airspace design options to minimise and where possible reduce the impacts of noise. • Assessment of the impacts of these options for “early” operation case (considered to be 2030 with 570K movements serving 103 mppa) and “mature” operation (considered to be 2040 with 740K movements serving 130 mppa). These assessments have been considered against current day (or baseline) and future base cases; • Assessment of Heathrow’s proposed airspace options with respect to the SAF including consideration of respite for the future airport cases with respect to the current day and future base cases. Ground Noise 1.3.2 Aircraft ground noise is the noise generated by aircraft whilst on the ground during taxiing, hold and whilst at stand. Other sources of ground noise include surface access road traffic noise. For both strands of ground noise, the following scope of work has been undertaken: • The capturing and understanding of the baseline ground noise environment through attended and observed measurements at locations and communities around the existing 2R and proposed 3R airport boundaries; • Noise modelling of various potential mitigation measures in order to help define the Mitigation Strategy for ground noise; and • Modelling and population exposure assessments of noise exposure from road traffic noise and airside ground noise in order to inform understanding of the overall impacts. Heathrow’s Objectives 1.4 Heathrow’s aircraft noise objectives are as follows: • To develop a three-runway airport where noise, including night noise, affects fewer people than today; • To maintain the principle of runway alternation to provide periods of noise respite for communities around Heathrow and to explore whether there are opportunities to enhance periods of relief through innovative airspace design; © AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Heathrow’s North-West Runway – Air and Ground Noise Assessment