Residents in Molesey and Walton will recall the surge in flight noise from Heathrow last year. Working with local councillor Steve Bax, we secured the early suspension of that trial before Christmas, and officials from Heathrow and air traffic control addressed a full public meeting on 5 March, to hear local concerns.

There were two follow up actions. First, Heathrow took on board the very serious concerns raised about the impact on our quality of life. As a result, Heathrow set up a Community Noise Forum so that residents' views could be fed into the ongoing design of flight trial paths. Councillor Steve Bax (Molesey East) serves as our local representative.

Second, I agreed to follow up with Heathrow on any further issues raised by residents which were not covered at the meeting on 5 March. I wrote on 26 March to Heathrow raising the three points that had been emailed or written into me by various constituents. I have now received a response from the relevant Director at Heathrow, Matt Gorman. Rather than paraphrase, I have set out the letter in full below.

In sum, this is clearly an issue Steve Bax and I will want to monitor with you very closely. However, we have made progress, not least in establishing a proper dialogue with Heathrow that I hope will ensure we resolve the outstanding concerns, and can deal with any new issues as they arise.




Dear Mr Raab,
Thank you for your letter following the meeting in East Molesey on 5th March, please accept my apologies for the delay in responding. Thank you for also taking the time to chair the meeting, my colleagues and I found it to very useful to hear about the issues being raised.

You raised three separate points in your letter on behalf of your constituents which I will answer in turn.

1) The modernisation of airspace is happening regardless of whether Heathrow expands or not. It is a Government plan to update the UK airspace, called the Future Airspace Strategy (FAS). It applies to Heathrow and all other airports within the UK. The plan is to modernise the UK skies by 2020.
Heathrow operates at full capacity and is legally capped at 480,000 flights per year and so cannot increase the number of flights using the airport, without Government permission. Regardless of whether Heathrow expands or not, the demand for flying is set to grow in the south East and in developing its Future Airspace Strategy, the Government has set out a number of objectives that will bring benefits to passengers, the environment and local communities. One of these is to ensure a more efficient airspace and manage future demand for flying.

2) At this stage we do not know what changes to flight paths may occur as a result of airspace modernisation. Now that the airspace trials are finished, aircraft have returned to using the pre-trial departure routes. Any changes to existing flight paths as a result of future airspace redesign will be subject to public consultation and ultimately it will be for the Government to approve these. I would like to assure residents that even with expansion, Heathrow's noise footprint will shrink as aircraft continue to get quieter. The Airports Commission assessment of our plans confirms this. One of the opportunities of airspace modernisation will also be to explore opportunities for providing respite for people living under the departure routes, which is not possible at the moment.

3) While airlines are required to follow one of the six designated departure routes, the choice of which departure route and the sorts of aircraft that use these routes is a decision for the airline. There may therefore be variances regarding these two factors. Regarding height, there are a number of noise abatement procedures set down by the government that airlines have to adhere to, namely that they must be 1,000ft at 6.5km from Heathrow and must achieve a climb gradient of not less than 4%. The wind speed on the day and the type of aircraft (i.e. heavy versus light aircraft) are just some of the factors that may alter the height of aircraft on the day.

We are aware that some residents feel that aircraft are lower and through the Community Noise Forum we are working with members to carry out analysis that will show whether there has been a change of overall heights and flight patterns, and if so why.
Since the public meeting on the 5th March, we have hosted two Community Noise Forum meetings,
with the next one planned for May. Cllr Bax and Cllr Luxton are representatives for Elmbridge. I would like to assure you that we are eager to build trust in the information we provide to local communities and I hope you will agree that the establishment of the Community Noise Forum is a positive step towards this.

I will keep in touch with your office as we move through this process.

Yours sincerely,

Matt Gorman
Sustainability & Environment Director,
Heathrow

Today, I met with senior officials from Heathrow and NATS (ie UK traffic control), pursuant to the many concerns raised by residents in East Molesey and Walton about the new flight path trials from Heathrow. I blogged about the issue, following my local public meeting in Molesey on 24th September, here.

We had a productive meeting at which Heathrow expressed regret about the level of noise experienced by our local community. I fed in the scale and scope of concerns expressed to me in correspondence, and at the local meeting on the 24th September.

The key points I can now feed back to the local community include:

• The trials over Molesey and Walton will finish no later than 12 November, possibly earlier.
• When trials re-commence in October 2015, there may be other paths tested in the borough, but it is highly unlikely we'd see the same level of concentration along the same path as felt recently. Heathrow and NATS were at pains to convey that they had heard loud and clear - and appreciated - the level of concern felt locally.
• The reason these trials are being conducted is to design a new system that takes advantage of satellite technology to run flights on a tighter line in and out of airports. This new system is being tried and tested across all our airports, and indeed across the world. The potential gains from the new system include: better use of airspace, less emissions, less noise pollution for residents (because flights ascend quicker), and fewer bottlenecks on the ground.
• These trials would be going on whether or not there was ongoing debate about the 3rd runway at Heathrow. So, this is not some softening up exercise as a precursor to a 'done deal' on airport expansion at Heathrow.
• Heathrow, government officials and Ministers are now increasingly conscious - and data from these trials has reinforced the view - that it is unfair to concentrate flights (and noise) too heavily along one very narrow path. Whilst it may minimise the number of residents affected, it maximises the noise pollution they are subject to.
• The new system will be designed using data from all of the regional trials, and put in place by 2020. Before then, it will be subject to local consultation and approval will be required from the Secretary of State for Transport. So, the democratic process will ensure local views on the future proposals are properly fed in.

I appreciate the disruption and anxiety caused by the recent trials. However, I hope residents can now feel reassured that their concerns have been heard, and that we won't see a return to anything like those noise levels along this route. Long term, the aim of the new system is to reduce overall noise pollution, recognising the legitimate concerns of the neighbourhoods beneath the flight paths. Of course, if anyone has further concerns, please just drop me a line.

I recently blogged about the wave of local concern about the acute noise pollution from the Heathrow flight trials, here.

I have just been informed that the trials will be cut short on 12 November (they were scheduled to run until January). That will be enormous relief to residents in Molesey and Walton, who will be able to enjoy Christmas in peace! I am delighted that Heathrow listened to local concerns and acted on them.

Local Councillor, Steve Bax, and I will now work hard to make sure we don't see any return to those noise levels in the future, once the consultation process completes its reviews and analysis.

Yesterday, I quizzed the Transport Minister on the local service we get from South West Trains. I highlighted poor customer satisfaction ratings and overcrowding, against rising fares and the enormous subsidy local commuters pay for investment on other lines.

I have to say I didn't find the answers especially convincing. I think we get a lousy deal under the arrangements inherited from the last government and it raises fundamental questions about the franchising framework which will be subject to government review soon. I will continue to press the case for a fairer deal and better value for money for users of our local train services.

You can read the record of the debate, and my exchanges with the Transport Minister, here - or watch the debate on the BBC here.

I joined Critical Care Parademedic, Mark, and Paramedic, Dina - as pictured below - part way through their 12 hour shift. We responded to a range of emergency calls, including heart failure and related accidents. From an MP's point of  view, it is important to see first-hand the challenges faced by those on the frontline, and talk through some of the issues. I was thoroughly impressed by the technical skill, calm professionalism and dedication Mark and Dina showed in what were quite daunting situations. They are a real credit to SECAMB, and a reminder to me of the invaluable service provided by our fabulous paramedics.

Last night I went on Radio 4's Any Questions with Mark Serwotka, Stephen Twigg and Claire Fox.

We were asked about Ed Miliband's One Nation speech, the West Coast Main Line bid, Jimmy Savil and the Ebacc.

You can listen in here.

I have had a number of emails and letters querying the local contingency planning for the Olympics. One line of inquiry concerned police coverage given their additional duties. I raised this directly with the Chief Constable, and received a detailed explantion of the planning that has gone into the local preparations. Part of this relates to security during the cycling events on 28 and 29 July and 1 August. Part also relates to ensuring proper cover so that we maintain local policing at the same time as dealing with these major events. For example, training and leave has been suspended for the period, to make sure operational policing levels are maintained. We will also be receiving external support from other forces.

In addition, I know some people are concerned about the impact of the local events on traffic and parking. Yesterday, I attended a meeting convened to discuss this in Whitehall, chaired by the Transport Secretary, with representatives from the department, Surrey Country Council, Surrey Police and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I checked a range of particular issues, for example, arrangements for non-emergency services for the elderly.

An enormous amount of work has been done, but it is vital that the information is disseminated. Surrey County Council have already done one leaflet drop, and plan another. However, for those with specific queries - on routes, traffic and parking restrictions etc - there is also a dedicated website, here, and you can also call their helpline on 0300 200 1018.

Shortly before Christmas, I joined the Wood family (from Esher), as Andrew (currently at Tiffins Boys) won a national competition to produce a space science magazine, to be circulated in all UK schools.

You can read Andrew's winning entry here - the headline is Ticket To Mars. It is a fantastic accolade, and a great magazine - technically impressive, creative, well presented and easy to read. Very many congratulations to Andrew!

The competition was organised by Queen Mary University with Venture Thinking. We were joined (see below) by Heather Wood from Venture Thinking and British-born astronaut, Dr Richard Garriott de Cayeux. It is a great project, and I hope it continues to run in the future.

There has been progress on a couple of bread and butter local issues. Surrey County Council have agreed that the default position for smaller villages and parades, in their parking charges review, will be half an hour free on street parking. They will look at the evidence for each locality - and consider the case for exemptions. Meanwhile, Elmbridge Borough Council have announced they are halving the all day charge for 'off street' parking charges - a valuable boost to local trade. At the same time, the government has announced a further £4million to repair roads in Surrey - essential for residents, business and hosting the Olympic cycling in 2012!

Today, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced £100 million extra to fix pot holes in England. The local allocations will be made in March, but this should be good news for Surrey. The state of our roads adds to transport costs, which weigh down local economic growth, and remains a high priority issue for local residents as a quality of life issue.

One of the legacies of the last government is John Prescott's disastrous stint in charge of planning. Whilst, the new government has made a fresh start - scrapping the South East Plan (with its arbitrary housing targets) and announcing plans to tackle 'garden-grabbing' and illegal traveller sites - it will not be possible to roll back all the damage done. However, this week I wrote to the Communities Secretary to ask him to review Prescott's 2005 approval of plans to build a service station off the M25, near Downside.

I have seen no convincing case for building this service station, in terms of transport or road safety. It tramples on both local democracy (Prescott overruled Elmbridge council's refusal of permission) and our green belt - and risks becoming a magnet for crime in the area. Generally, planning is a matter for the borough council - not the MP - and it is unclear what legal grounds there are for the Secretary of State to look at the planning permission anew. However, in these circumstances - where local democracy has been overruled, and our green belt is under threat - I believe it is right for me to intervene and request the government to look at the matter again.

I was relieved to learn that the Treasury has approved the funding to enable the construction of Walton Bridge to go ahead. We face difficult decisions given the public finances, but this is an essential piece of infrastructure . Surrey CC made a convincing case for the project to proceed, and I followed up with the Transport Secretary. The government's decision gives the authorities the certainty they need, in order to complete the construction on time.

Last weekend, I was down at Hersham train station with local councillor, Mary Sheldon. We filmed a short podcast on the upkeep of the station, a bread and butter quality of life issue for commuters and residents. You can watch the clip below.