NEWS
Stansted noise complaint review
We have now been told that the review of Stansted flightpath changes, which led to a doubling of flights over the Parish, is to take place on May 4th.
Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has produced a very good summary of the process and core objections, here.
We have been advised to ensure that we lodge all objections with NATS, which we have done for the Parish with our letter here, copying our earlier letters of objection, here and here.
Letters need to be addressed to: Martin Rolfe, CEO. NATS, 4000 Parkway, Whiteley, Fareham, Hants, PO15 7F. Alternatively you can email ku.oc.stan@seiriuqne.cilbup, referencing ‘Review of Stansted flightpath changes Feb 2017’ .
This is the final push to ensure that our voices are heard. Please take this opportunity and write yourself, as, with Stansted’s expansion plans, it will only get noisier in the skies above us.
Village litter pick – keeping Felsted clean and healthy
A huge thank you to the record number of volunteers who came along to the litter pick on 1 April.
Between them they collected 34 bags of rubbish (plus assorted larger items) and covered all the main areas of the village, including Station Road and Braintree Road, where the problem was at its worst. There were also additional groups who couldn’t make the day but headed out independenty to clean up their area of the Parish.
Everyone did a marvellous job but we want to give special thanks to Rosalind, who bravely tackled a ‘litter black spot’ near the Taylor Wimpey site at Watch House Green and to those who subsequently went along to help her.
The next pick will be on Saturday 21 October 2017. Please make a note in your diaries now.
Dog owners – Please use dog poo bags and dispose of them in the bins provided
In the last few months the PC has provided additional dog waste bins on Footpath 7 (past Whippersnappers Nursery near the Flitch Way), Footpath 55 (north east of Bury Farm) and at the Ravens Crescent Play Area. Dog walkers not picking up their pets poo is becoming an increasing problem in Felsted, as is the practise of leaving full dog poo bags hanging in hedgerows or on the ground. There is an extensive network of over 15 dog waste bins around the village and the PC would ask all dog owners to be considerate and ‘Pick up’ after their pets and dispose of the bags responsibly. We can then all enjoy the countryside without worrying about what we might step in.
New play equipment at Ravens Crescent Play Area
The Watch House Residents Group arranged a picnic at the Ravens Crescent play area on Saturday 1 April to officially mark the installation of the new play equipment provided by the Parish Council.
The weather was kind and lots of children and parents came along. The children were happy to play on the new swings and climbing tower whilst the grown-ups enjoyed a chat and some lovely cakes.
The Parish Council received a Community Projects Grant from Uttlesford District Council of £3500 towards the cost.
Brad Pearman, local resident, said “I know I will echo the thoughts of many residents when I say that it has been extremely well received and that the children are making very good use out of it already. Not one day goes by without children heading to the playing field and it compliments the football posts perfectly to give some much needed play equipment in the area.” He added “The equipment gets used by local residents, and also some children from the primary school as a treat from their parents when on their way home at the end of the day. Sincere thanks to all concerned”.
Many thanks to Brad and other local residents for organising the day.
Litter pick 1st April: its no joke
We are holding our next little pick on Saturday 1st April.
If you can come along and spend a little time helping keep our Parish clean, then meet in the Playing Field Car Park (off Jollyboys Lane North – CM6 3DU) anytime between 10am and 2pm.
You can choose which area you ‘pick’ and high viz vests will be provided, along with grabbers and refuse bags.
Any queries please ring Diane Smith (Clerk) on 01371 823071.
Your help really will make a difference. last time we collected 30 bags of rubbish, some tyres and traffic cones.
If you can’t this date then be sure to put October 21 in your diaries.
HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!
Standsted flightpath changes: 12 month review and the last chance to have your say
The 12 month review of the change to Stansted flightpaths, which resulted in a doubling of flights over our parish, and a 10 fold increase in noise complaints, is happening now.
You can read the background to the changes through our previous news items, here.
We have written to the CAA to repeat our objection to the flightpath changes. We are calling for the review to reverse the flightpath changes and for mitigation to be introduced to more fairly share the noise burden.
You can read our letter here.
As always it is important for individuals to also shout loud and clear. We had a great response to the event held by Stansted airport in November, with Stansted’s feedback forms running out before the event was half way through.
This is our last opportunity to object to these changes. Don’t miss it.
You can write to the CAA, as we have done, or you can simply use the SSE form, here to have your say.
Just use the free write box in the SSE form to make your views clear and have your objection to the flightpath changes registered, so that we might have them reversed as part of the 12 month review.
Remember, in the coming months, Stansted airport is expected to apply for a doubling of passenger numbers, so the flight noise will only increase if we do not get the changes reversed.
Not forgetting to also use the SSE form to complain about individual noisy planes, and to have your say about future night flights, here.
Stansted airport night flight consultation
The Government has published a consultation on night flight restrictions for airports in the south, including for Stansted airport.
The current regulations expire in October of this year and this new consultation will establish rules for the next 5 years.
The Government acknowledges that noise at night represents the least acceptable form of aircraft noise. However, night flights are supported for providing ‘extra choice for passengers’ and night operations for the freight sector.
The full consultation can be read here and responses submitted here.
Responses need to be submitted by 28 February. Your Parish Council will be submitting a response. However, it is vital that residents also make their opinions known.
Whilst there are some aspects of the proposals which are welcome, specifically ending night quota exemptions for certain flights, they do not go far enough to reduce highly disruptive night flights, particularly in the ‘shoulder’ periods at the end of the evening and first thing in the morning at 6am.
Too many people in Felsted thought that the last changes to daytime flights would have no impact on them and so did not submit to the previous consultation. But Stansted has seen a 10 fold increase in complaints and Felsted has suffered from increased aircraft noise.
Make sure you have your say now.
Sharing advice and thoughts from Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE):
Stansted currently has permission for 12,000 night flights a year, more than twice as many as are permitted at Heathrow. SSE has long argued to the Government that night flights have a far greater impact on local residents around Stansted because of its rural location, where background noise levels at night are generally very low.
Furthermore, the 12,000 annual limit applies only to the 6½ hours from 11.30pm to 6.00am whereas the normal definition of ‘night’ is the 8 hours from 11.00pm to 7.00am. Moreover, a large number of Stansted’s night flights are large, noisy cargo aircraft, many of which are very old. Unsurprisingly, these give rise to a disproportionately high level of noise complaints. There are also a rapidly increasing number of ‘exempt’ aircraft flying at night, currently approaching an additional 2000 movements annually.
The Government proposes to maintain the present night limit on aircraft movements at Stansted, whilst at the same time removing the current exemption for less noisy aircraft and increasing the movements limit accordingly. This aspect of the Government’s proposals is welcome since the number of exempt aircraft has been increasing at Stansted Airport in recent years, to nearly 2000, and all aircraft movements at night – the least noisy as well as the most noisy – create noise nuisance and cause widespread sleep disturbance for local residents. This proposal will cap this increase.
SSE’s main criticism of the Government’s latest night flights proposals is that they do not go nearly far enough to tackle the very serious impacts of night flights in terms of sleep disturbance for local residents around Stansted and under its flight paths.
Felsted Parish council is joining SSE in calling for:
- An unequivocal Government commitment to phase out all night flights at Stansted by 2030, except in the case of genuine emergencies;
- In the meantime, for the annual limit on Stansted night flights to apply, not just from 11.30pm to 6.00am, but from 11.00pm to 7.00am, so that ‘night’ truly means ‘night’, as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Guidelines on Community Noise;
- A radical overhaul of the current ‘averaging’ method for measuring aircraft noise so that the official Government noise statistics start to represent what people actually have to endure.
We would urge residents to consider spending a few minutes making their own voices heard by completing the online consultation.
Public Meeting with Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner
The Parish Council are concerned at the level of ‘minor crime’ occurring in the village and the poor police response to these events.
We have therefore arranged a meeting with Jane Gardner (Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex) to discuss our, and your, concerns.
It will be held on Thursday 26 January 2017 at 7.30 pm at:
U R C Hall, Stebbing Road, Felsted, CM6 3JD
The agenda is here.
Please come along and take this opportunity to raise your own concerns with local policing matters.
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Bus service 16 disruption
Essex County Council has alerted us to disruption to a number of bus services, including service 16, which passes through Felsted.
Due to an emergency road closure at Bridge Street in Great Bardfield preventing buses operating their route between Great Bardfield and Finchingfield, services 9/9A, 16, 417 and 418 will be severely disrupted and passengers may not be able to complete their journeys.
Passengers are advised to contact Stephensons of Essex on 01376 503050 or visit www.stephensonsofessex.com for more information.
A full list of services affected follows:
- 9/9A Great Bardfield – Finchingfield – Wethersfield…- Braintree (ECC contracted service)
- 16 Wethersfield – Finchingfield – Great Bardfield… – Chelmsford (ECC contracted service)
- 417 Rayne… – Great Bardfield – Finchingfield… – Saffron Walden & Newport Schools (Commercial service)
- 418 Great Saling… – Great Bardfield – Finchingfield… – Saffron Walden & Newport Schools (Commercial service)
These are all operated by Stephensons of Essex.
SERCLE newsletter, fighting the proposal for 13,000 homes
SERCLE (Stop the Erosion of Rural Communities in Local Essex) is a local community group, established to fight the proposed West of Braintree new town settlement of 13,000 homes.
You can download the latest SERCLE newsletter here and read more about SERCLE here.
SERCLE is supported by local Parish Councils, including Felsted.
The impact on our Parish of 13,000 new houses just to the north of Felsted would be severe. Traffic congestion would hit the village centre in particular, as commuters find routes to their places of work and, already overloaded, local services would be stretched to breaking point.
Working with other parishes, we have issued news releases explaining how we are fighting the New Town proposal, currently being considered by Uttlesford and Braintree District Councils within their Local Plan processes.
Future water pressure improvements in Felsted
At a recent Parish Council Monthly meeting, representatives from Affinity Water gave a presentation explaining their future plans for water supplies in the area. Most notably was the belief that, whilst water supplies are forecast to reduce, demand is forecast to double, due to current house building plans.
The plans included compulsory installation of water meters across the area, with a 2 year period of adjustment before the meters would be compulsorily used to calculate bills. Letters have begun to arrive at households with more details.
Your council also raised the problem of poor water pressure in much of the Parish.
Affinity Water have now advised that they are currently working on a plan for a reinforcement scheme for the area. This would improve the performance of the local network in Felsted, which should increase the water pressure. The timetable will depend on permissions and permits being granted but the scheme is due for completion in 2017.
We will keep you updated as we hear from Affinity Water.
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Felsted Focus Magazine
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