Air noise report 'states obvious'

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The government has been accused of wasting thousands of pounds on a study into aircraft noise which concluded people are increasingly annoyed by it.

The study found people are more irritated by aircraft than they were in 1985 when the last study was done.

Its other main finding was that irritation increased with noise levels.

The Lib Dems said the report was a "complete waste of money" but the government said it was useful for the formation of future policy.

Lib Dem transport spokesman Susan Kramer said if Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly was really concerned about noise, she should abandon plans to further expand Heathrow airport.

It behoves government to do rigorous research before making policy Department of Transport spokesman

"Ministers have spent thousands of pounds on something any local resident could have told them for free," she said.

"This report is a complete waste of time and money."

But a spokesman for the Department of Transport insisted that the Attitudes to Noise from Aviation Sources in England (Anase) study was not a waste of money.

"It gives us a different understanding of the impact of noise on people," he said.

Annoyance levels

The previous study suggested annoyance with aircraft noise "kicked in" at 56 decibels, but the new research suggested it went up on a "sliding scale," starting at very low levels.

He denied the report was stating the obvious.

"It behoves government to do rigorous research before making policy," he told the BBC News Website.

Most respondents had a clear opinion of whether the sound levels being played to them corresponded to the aircraft being shown to them Noise report

The Lib Dems have tabled a Parliamentary question demanding to know how much was spent on the study and how much was paid in fees to consultants MVA.

Researchers spent more than six months measuring annoyance levels, carrying out interviews in 2,733 households in 76 different places.

They also tried to establish a complicated system for measuring how much people would be willing to pay to get rid of aircraft noise.

Rich 'more annoyed'

They recorded the noise of aeroplanes flying over people's homes and then played it back to them in an interview, with flash cards showing the type of plane.

"Most respondents had a clear opinion of whether the sound levels being played to them corresponded to the aircraft being shown to them," the MVA report notes.

"And there was strong evidence that the more customised the aural and visual material was to their home localities, the more likely respondents were to feel that it represented their experience."

Jumbo jet

Among other findings, the consultants discovered people with higher incomes were more likely to be annoyed by aircraft noise.

Households with an income of £60,000 a year would be willing to pay £700 a year to get rid of aviation noise, their report says.

They also estimate that people would pay between £5 and £9 per month to have one less jumbo jet flying over their house per day.

But these findings were rejected as unreliable by the Department of Transport, which said it would continue to use the same methodology it employs for road and rail projects.

In a statement issued with the report, Transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick said it would be used to formulate policy.

"One interpretation of this is that government could abandon the existing restriction on noise levels at Heathrow Airport of 57 decibels and above."

But he said the government would not be doing that as it had "already said that any expansion of Heathrow must not increase the area where people experience the highest noise levels".