Night Flights Fight Begins- Public Meeting, Lea Hall, November 21st
After a hectic week of leaflet delivery and press releases, we were all nervous
about how many would turn up at the Public Meeting in Mirfield to stop night
flights from Birmingham Airport. The meeting was instigated by Birmingham FOE
aviation campaigner, Brett Rehling. As you may remember, the Heathrow Association
for the Control of Aircraft Noise, HACAN, won an important legal battle in the
European court in October, establishing their human right to a good night's sleep.
If it's a human right in London it's a human right in Birmingham, and so Brett,
who has heard from lots of residents unable to sleep (and unable to get the airport
to answer for it), set about using the Heathrow decision as a focus for similar
community action here.
The airport currently flies an average of 16 flights at night. Although the airport
claims these are as quiet as humanly ( planely? Ed ) possible, they still regularly
exceed the World Health Organisation's limit for undisturbed sleep of 55 decibels.
The fine system the airport authority are so proud of only applies over 87 decibels:
a significant difference. The airport introduced night flights in 1997, despite
fierce opposition from residents and strong recommendations against night flights
in the original planning report. Since 48% of the Airport is owned by a consortium
of local councils, there was a clear conflict of interest between the needs of
residents and the policies imposed on their local councillors.
In the event, around 60 people attended, mainly from north of the airport: Marston
Green, Kitts Green, Hodge Hill, Castle Bromwich. Also over a hundred leaflets
were returned. The meeting itself was addressed by three speakers: Brett - explaining
FOE's role, and emphasising that the only way the project will work is as a community
action; Jim Ryan - Solihull councillor and self-appointed fly in the council's
ointment; and John Stewart, HACAN's spokesperson. Mr Ryan talked about the history
of the airport, and what he saw as councillors' failure to support their electors.
But he returned again and again to the importance of community-led action; that
the only way for people to win is to work together, across ward divisions, involving
as many people as possible.
John Stewart talked about the Heathrow campaign. He was emphatic that it would
be an uphill struggle - it took them nearly five years to get to court - but
was also clear about the rewards, empathising with the residents about the noise,
pollution and congestion; he also mentioned wider airport issues such as the
significant effect on schooling regular over-school flights can have. It was
heartening to hear of the Heathrow success, which had sprung from a very similar
meeting, and he promised that the experience of the Heathrow campaigners would
be at our disposal.
After the speeches, the first intervention came from the airport caterers' shop
steward, arguing that banning night flights would affect airport employment.
This is true up to a point, but as Brett Rehling pointed out, the air industry
receives massive subsidies in one form or another (a3182 from each UK resident,
per year), and redirecting the subsidies to other industries would partially
solve the problem. One by one residents stood up to support the principle of
the meeting and deliver their own accounts of the problem. Many felt they were
unsupported by their councillors. The Airport had sent some PR people, who spent
most of the meeting at the back, taking notes. Although they attempted to intervene,
talking about their charitable giving (less than 0.05% of their turnover, as
it happens) and their consultative mechanisms, the mood of the crowd - and the
facts - were clearly against them.
The meeting closed with Brett asking if people wanted to form a residents' group
to take the matter further: every hand in the room went up, except for the Airport
representatives'. Within the next few weeks, we'll be holding an inaugural meeting
to establish a committee of local residents. We'll also be organising public meetings
in other areas, to cater for those in other areas who were interested but unable
to attend our first meeting. It's hoped the new committee will be able to meet
with local councillors as soon as possible, to establish which councillors are
for the residents and which for the airport. From there, the sky's the limit,
or at least, for the airport, off-limits!
Jeremy Beacock
Anyone who wishes to get involved in the residents' action group should first
contact us on 0121 632 6909 until the new group is formally set up.