Bulletin Board

 
EFRA Response to the use of airspace in West London, March 2019
 
Please find below the EFRA response to the Heathrow Group’s consultation on the future use of the airspace above our heads. Do use the text to compose your own response to the consultation paper. The deadline for comments is 4thMarch. Go to https://www.heathrowconsultation.com/
Background
Design envelope and new flight paths
Indicative maps in the consultation documents show westerly arrivals to the new runway set at 1000-2000 feet over our area, roughly on the centre line of the current departure route.  In addition to the current take-off noise suffered by local residents currently, such a plan would mean that we could be seriously affected by planes landing over our area at low-level altitudes for the first time.This is especially unacceptable for our corner of Ealing which includes six schools in close proximity (Gunnersbury Boys; Ealing Fields High School; Little Ealing Primary School; Mount Carmel Primary; Grange Primary) and also includes Clayponds Rehabilitation Hospital. With regard to take-offs, and based on Heathrow’s plan to share the burden of take-offs around the whole of London, Ealing could be in line for take-offs from both a potential new R3 as well as the existing northern runway.  We urge you to review these flight paths to avoid our area being subject to increased noise and pollution. We are firmly of the view that communities should suffer ‘no detriment’ under these proposals as current noise levels are unacceptable as it is. 
Additional 25,000 movements prior to R3
Indicative maps show that we would be subject for the first time to noise from aircraft landing and that this noise is likely to affect residents most between 6am and 7am.  We reiterate our opposition to more aircraft noise and pollution than currently. See also our comment on ‘Night Flights’. 
Easterly preference
Any increase in the proportion of flights over our area when there are easterly winds is unacceptable. The burden we suffer is already excessive.  We strongly oppose any change to the current regime.  If there were no preference Ealing would have departure noise 50% of the time instead of the current 30% plus of the time.  There is recognition by Heathrow that departure noise of aircraft is louder than landing noise. Also the runways are projected to be so close that even if there is alternation on departure, the flight paths from each would always be audible to Ealing residents.  
Respite
With Ealing being subject to excessive aircraft noise already, increasing this burden for our area would be most distressing. We must have proper immutable periods in a day where there is no aircraft noise. 
Night flights
EFRA reiterates its position of a total night flight ban between 11pm and 6am and a gradual reduction of movements between 6am-7am. 
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, our area already has its ‘fair’ share of aircraft noise. We emphatically reject any expansion at Heathrow that affects EFRA residents negatively. Everything we know about air and noise pollution today speaks against an expansion of Heathrow and aircraft movements more generally.  Any new flight paths should avoid densely populated urban areas like Northfields in the London Borough of Ealing. 
Proposed Changes to the Council’s Library Service
The Council has some radical proposals for the management of Northfields Library going forward. There is a consultation exercise on its proposals which runs until 17thMay. See https://www.ealing.gov.uk/downloads/download/5159/draft_ealing_library_strategy_2019_-_2023
There is a public meeting in our area where the Council’s proposals will be discussed. This is being held at Kingsdown Methodist Church on 12thMarch from 5pm to 7pm. 
Ward Forum Tuesday 5thMarch
There is a lot happening locally. Do come to the Ward Forum where you can hear from the local Police and our local Councillors about the wide range of matters affecting our local community. The meeting is being held at Northfields Community Centre, 71a Northcroft Road, W13 on Tuesday 5thMarch from 7.30pm until 9.30pm. Details here https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201047/ward_forums/1176/northfield_ward_forum/1
 
EFRA E-Newsletter February 2019 
Flight Paths: Northfields could have aircraft flying overhead 365 days a year  
Heathrow Airport launched an important consultation exercise in January with responses required by 4thMarch.  The consultation covers: 
  New flight paths resulting in changes to runway alternation and respite
  Questions regarding the current Westerly Preference regime (which means when there is a light easterly wind flights still take off over Windsor).  
  New night flight regime
  Extra flights from 2022 by introducing Independent Parallel Approaches (IPA). 
The consultation provides maps of what new flight paths might look like – with or without the construction of Runway 3. These show that the changes could result in Northfields/South Ealing experiencing sustained landing noise/pollution for the first time. There could also be more flights taking off over our area. 
Part of the consultation includes proposals to add an additional 25,000 flights each year using Heathrow starting in 2022. This could happen even without the new runway. 
The full consultation is available at https://afo.heathrowconsultation.com/. HACAN, the pressure group lobbying against expansion at Heathrow, has produced a series of briefings that describe the topics under consultation in more detail and provide guidance on how to respond: https://hacan.org.uk/. Look out for ‘Major Heathrow Consultation launched today’. 
EFRA will prepare a response to the consultation exercise. Our stance is that we oppose expansion at Heathrow, including additional flights from 2022. Our response will reflect this but some elements of the consultation, such as changing flight paths will happen even if R3 is not built and no additional flights are permitted. We therefore have to make a case for being spared a massive increase in additional noise. The density of schools in South Ealing will be raised; the negative impact on schoolchildren from continuous aircraft noise is a known fact. We will post the EFRA response on our website as soon as it is available but we encourage all Members to respond individually to strengthen our hand.  
Work starts on New High School
 Site clearance has already begun for the new 850 pupil high school which will be located on the site of the former King Fahad Academy / St Anne’s Convent.
The sequence of works will be:

Jan 2019 to Jun 2019

Clearances & Demolitions

Feb 2019 to Apr 2020

Refurbishment of Listed Buildings.

May 2019 to Oct 2019.

Superstructure Steel, concrete & roofing

Oct 2019.

Mains electricity, gas & water & telecoms On

Sep 2019 to Jan 2020

Superstructure Cladding Windows & Doors.

Nov 2019 to Jun 2020

Building Services and internal fit out.

Apr 2020 to Jul 2020

Internal Finishes, decorations and floor finishes.

Apr 2020 to Jul 2020

External Hard & Soft Landscaping.

Jul 2020

Handing over building for school move.

The school’s contractors are keen to maintain good relations with residents during the challenging demolition and construction period.  They are therefore issuing regular email updates to residents and will also be holding periodic meetings.
 EFRA strongly recommends that anyone who is interested in receiving these updates email their contact details to Keith McGinness, who is the senior manager for the project, at:   k.mcginness@bandk.co.uk
Registering with Keith is already providing an invaluable and immediate communication means for those neighbouring residents who experienced unexpectedly strong vibrations during the recent clearance works.  Other challenges may well emerge given a project of this complexity.
EFRA is keen to monitor the demolition and construction and would welcome being copied in to your emails to the School’s contractors.   The EFRA email address is:  contact@efra.org.uk
Northfields Library: Is ‘community management’ an option? 
Ealing Council is proposing radical changes to the delivery of library services in the Borough. 
Under these proposals, Northfields Library could become ‘community managed’ with volunteers needed to help run this important community asset. EFRA is in discussion with the Council about how the local community might help manage the library going forward.  The Council is launching a 12 week consultation exercise about its proposals in mid February. During this period the Council will hold a local event outlining its proposals. 
 
We will keep Members informed of developments as they occur. We certainly would encourage local residents to comment on the proposals when they are known. 
 
Housing development at the back of Overdale Road? 
EFRA has become aware that the owner of the land between Overdale Road and the Tube lines at Northfields Station is in negotiation with the Council about developing the site for housing. We understand that the owner is proposing to build 55 flats on the site. We are pushing for the owner to consult with the local community about the proposals before a formal planning application is submitted to the Council.   
 
Making Northfields Station step free
Working with Transport for All, EFRA launched its campaign to make Northfields Station step free last September. The online petition is still live so if you haven’t signed it yet please add your name to the 2000 plus people who have: https://www.change.org/p/transport-for-london-make-northfields-tube-station-step-free
We are in discussion with our various partners about when would be the best time to present the petition to the Mayor of London and TfL.
  
Traffic Calming 
EFRA continues to work alongside local residents, schools and local councillors to examine ways to address traffic calming across our area. With a new high school opening in the autumn of 2020 this could add to higher levels of traffic on surrounding roads and EFRA is keen to minimise the impact on local residents.
 
There have been some notable successes of late with new 20mph signs appearing on many local roads, a new cycle route on Little Ealing Lane and a new zebra crossing installed outside Mount Carmel Primary School. More work still needs be done though and the Committee is keen to hear the views of people in the local area on this matter.
 
EFRA AGM: Wednesday 22 May at the Log Cabin – Save the Date 
There is a lot happening in our local area. Please come to our AGM Wednesday on 22 May at the Log Cabin (7.00 for 7.30) to discuss planning, community safety and other issues with your Council representatives, local Police Officers and your neighbours. 
 
 
EFRA E-Newsletter February 2019  PDF can be found by clicking this link
 
'EFRA launches its campaign to make Northfields Station step free. 
 
 At 9am on Monday 17th September EFRA formally launched our campaign to make Northfields station step free. At the event local residents were joined by politicians from all parties to campaign to ensure that this strategically important station is on the TfL programme to create step free access for stations across London.
 
·        Transport for London has allocated £200m to make some stations in London step free by 2022.
·        Northfields station is not on this programme – despite being one of the busiest stations in suburban London.
·        A second phase in this series of improvements is being drawn up now.
·        We want Northfields station included in that programme.
 
Please sign our online petition here   http://bit.ly/northfields.
  
 
From the March Newsletter 2018 -Important Heathrow Consultations – responses needed by 28 March
Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) has launched two consultations. One concerns the precise location and length of the proposed Runway 3 and the other covers potential flight paths over West London going forward  (whether R3 is built or not). EFRA opposes the construction of R3 and will continue to lobby against the expansion of Heathrow.
Members are invited to submit their own views to HAL on these two sets of proposals and also to provide any insights for the EFRA submission as well. The closing date for both submissions is March 28th. Links to the documents and to the feedback methods are available via:
https://www.heathrowconsultation.com/
The consultation on expansion options is heavy in detail and reviews noise and air pollution amongst other matters. 
The other consultation has more relevance right now, whether R3 goes ahead or not. This is because of the newly developed system of ‘Performance Based Navigation’ (PBN) which is currently being rolled out globally and will be applied to Heathrow operations in due course. Essentially PBN will enable much more flexibility on flight paths along with much closer control of the planes using them. This will apply to both departures and landings.  In the future it is likely that planes will join the final approach much closer to Heathrow than is currently the case. Therefore there is a high-risk of aircraft landing directly over Ealing and the EFRA area. At the moment the planes land south of our area over Kew and Richmond.
EFRA will campaign against an increased number of flights being routed over our area – particularly when planes are landing from the east. Please therefore take a good look at this part of the consultation and make sure that HAL hear your views before it is too late.
 
Ealing Fields High School: Public Exhibition 28 March
This new school, which is part of the Twyford School Academy, will move to its permanent site on the former St Ann’s Convent/King Fahad Academy site on Little Ealing Lane in the next year or two.  There are extensive building works associated with the commissioning of the new school.  Prior to the formal planning application for the redevelopment of the site, the Government’s funding agency, in conjunction with the school, is organising an exhibition and consultation event at St Stephen’s House 62 Little Ealing Lane on Wednesday 28 March 3:00-8:00pm.  Please attend so you can see what the development will mean for you and your neighbours
Flyer - click here
 
EFRA has established a Sub Group which is in discussion with the school about the development of the site. Sub Group members and other EFRA Committee members will be present at the Exhibition and would like to hear your views on what is proposed. We can then feed back any concerns you may have to the school and other interested parties.  
Northfield Ward Forum: 12 March
This is the official council meeting, hosted by our Councillors, where discussions take place on matters of interest to the local community such as parking, planning and street cleaning.  The local Police will also be attending.
The next forum will be held on Monday 12 March at 7:30pm at Northfields Community Centre 71A Northcroft Road W13 9SS.  Full agenda here
 
EFRA AGM: Wednesday 23 May
One for the diary - our AGM will be held this year on Wednesday 23rdMay at the Log Cabin from 7pm.Please do come to hear from your local Councillors, the Police and others about issues affecting our local community.
 
 
 
From the January Newsletter 2018 
EFRA wants to make local roads as safe as possible.
As part of that drive, we have worked with local councillors to secure Ward Forum funding to paint 20mph roundels on many roads in our area. Research tells us that motorists reduce their speeds as they travel through area where roundels are painted on road surfaces. 
We are also working with our local councillors looking at ways to improve road safety in the area adjacent to Little Ealing School. We are concerned that Weymouth Avenue is used for ‘rat running’ and that this creates a hazard for children and others travelling to and from schools in our area. 
 
Ealing Fields High School
Last September Ealing Fields High School became part of the Twyford Academies Trust.  The school is hoping to move to the former King Fahad site opposite the Plough in September 2019 from its current location in Boston Manor.  A sub-group of EFRA committee members who live close to the site will shortly be meeting representatives of the Trust and contractors to view the plans and consider any issues of concern about the proposed redevelopment of the site.   Please contact Jane Cocking at jane75cocking@hotmail.co.ukif there are any issues you wish to highlight.
The school will have an intake of 120 pupils a year and will grow to accommodate about 840 pupils in all. Both during the construction phase and when the school is operational the impact on our area will be significant. EFRA will maintain a dialogue with the school to ensure residents’ interests are protected in both the short term and in the years ahead when the school has a full complement of both staff and pupils.  
 
Orion Park Redevelopment 
The Orion Park site (north and west of Northfields station) is scheduled to be redeveloped with housing and new shops following the Council’s decision to grant the developers planning permission in October last year. A representative from EFRA spoke at the Planning Committee objecting to the over-development of this site.  Of particular concern is the proposed 5/6 storey block on Northfield Avenue which we consider is out of scale with surrounding buildings.  Despite our objections and those of two of our local councillors (together with a large number of objections lodged by affected residents), the Committee approved the application.
EFRA is not opposed in principle to the regeneration of the site but was hoping the development would be on a smaller scale and more sympathetic to the character of the buildings in the surrounding area.  
We have not been advised when building work will start but we will keep local residents informed of any significant developments as they occur. 
 
The ‘mini gardens’ at the Plough Junction 
EFRA enthusiastically supported the creation of the mini gardens opposite the Plough in Northfield Avenue.  Indeed EFRA members who are also keen gardeners help maintain these patches of greenery in the heart of our community. But we were dismayed when ugly advertising signs were placed within these mini gardens by the Council last summer. Together with our local councillors, we fought hard to persuade the local authority to remove the signs - which it eventually did.   
 
Chandos Avenue 2-way cycle route
Following on from the successful introduction of the up-hill cycle lane on Little Ealing Lane, Ealing Council proposed extending the safe cycling network by making Chandos Ave 2-way for cycles only, with the road remaining 1-way for vehicular traffic. Chandos Avenue itself has to date suffered from both speeding and also wrong-way running by vehicles and residents have long complained about this with no positive response from Ealing Council. 
When the cycle proposal emerged, EFRA worked with residents, ward councillors and council officers to ensure all parties were informed of the plans; collated all the questions and reservations; arranged on-site meetings; and worked to revise the plans to best meet everyone's needs. The project has recently been implemented and to date seems to have been reasonably well received. The number of cyclists currently using the route is low (it is mid winter!) However the amount of wrong-way vehicular traffic seems to have gone down (due to the changes in the street furniture by Pizza Hut in South Ealing Road perhaps?) 
EFRA has secured an agreement that there will be a six month review of all aspects of the scheme, including the potential for the road to come within a 20mph zone.
 
J2 Festival June 2018 
For the second year running the Junction 2 (J2) Techno Music Festival will be held at Boston Manor Park. This time it will be held over the weekend of 8th/9th June. Whilst EFRA is keen is to celebrate the area's many cultural events and festivals, we do not feel this type of festival is appropriate for a largely residential area.
Last year the local transport infrastructure could not cope with the extra demand. And many local residents complained of incidents of anti-social behaviour and the constant noise. EFRA is most concerned that the weekend is in the middle of GCSE and A-Level season and local students might struggle to revise with the level of noise emanating from the site.  
EFRA has received reassurances from the Festival organisers that many of the problems encountered last year will be addressed. We will work hard to ensure that the organisers keep to their word.
 
Heathrow Update
In May 2017, EFRA responded to the Department for Transport‘s (DfT) National Policy Statement (NPS) and the UK Airspace Policy Consultation (see the EFRA website for background and responses). 
In autumn 2017, the DfT asked for comments on a revised draft Airports National Policy Statement which specifically addressed the issues of air quality and increased passenger numbers. On air quality, the DfT acknowledges that the proposals at Heathrow carry a high risk of exceeding legal limits for air quality but appears to take the view that nothing much can be done about it in the next few years until planes become less (air and noise) polluting. On passenger numbers, the draft highlights the relentless increase of air travel which puts pressure on existing infrastructure and makes airport expansion inevitable. The draft states that expanding Heathrow is still the Government’s preferred option. Again, EFRA’s response can be found on our website. 
In an interesting twist regarding this latest consultation, Windsor & Maidenhead, Hillingdon, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are questioning its legality because of pro-Heathrow statements made by Conservative ministers. The Councils say that “a consultation, to be lawful, must be approached with an open mind” (Source: www.airportwatch.org.uk;The Times, 30th December 2017).

The next milestones are two further consultations, this time by Heathrow itself. The consultations will be released on 17th January and run until 28th March. The first asks for comments on the mitigation measures if a 3rd runway is given the go-ahead. The second deals with the reorganisation of Heathrow’s flight paths. HACAN which gives a voice to residents under the Heathrow flight paths says that “these will be very important consultations for local communities. They could impact the quality of people’s lives for generations to come…”