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Corporate Strategy 2019-2021 Progress report – One year in

June 2020

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Content

Foreword ............................................................................................................................ 2

Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 4

Our first year (2019-20) ...................................................................................................... 5

Our second year (2020-21) ................................................................................................ 8

Year 3 (2021-22) and beyond .......................................................................................... 11

Annex: Our two-year objectives and progress against them ...................................... 13

1. Increase trust, transparency and clarity in the aviation noise debate...................... 13

2. Promote consistency, responsibility and accountability within the industry and beyond ........................................................................................................................ 15

3. Establish our expertise, authority and credibility ..................................................... 17

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Foreword

No one could have predicted the events of ICCAN’s first year and how Covid-19 would so radically impact on the lives and activities of everyone. Least of all could we have predicted the massive reduction in aviation noise that we have seen as a result of reducing flights to control the virus.

We know that, as the aviation industry starts to recover, the issue of how noise is managed will be greater and more complex as more people become aware of the noise created by aircraft in the sky.

I am extremely proud of what ICCAN has achieved in its first year. I am particularly pleased with how we have developed an in-depth understanding of the aviation noise agenda and how others within and outside the industry are recognising our expertise, authority and credibility.

I always felt that a good measure of early success would be for ICCAN to become the ‘go to’ organisation on aviation noise issues and I am genuinely impressed with the number of airports, community groups and stakeholders who turn to ICCAN for guidance and assistance. To me this demonstrates the importance of our work and the need and desire from all parties to improve the management of aviation noise.

The Commissioners have been determined that ICCAN should not be ‘just another body working in aviation’; rather that we should be different and seen to be different. Our culture of openness and transparency alongside our passion to challenge the status quo within the context of a clear understanding of aviation from a UK perspective has, in my view, ensured we are increasingly seen as a force for positive change.

From the start, we understood our role was as much about changing approaches by all sides as concrete measures. We are pleased that there are now many open to different approaches, but we are also conscious that the impact of Covid-19 on the industry will again change previous norms.

It is vital to stress ICCAN’s view that a return to how it was before would be a wasted opportunity and, in time, would result in making it much more difficult for UK aviation to be sustainable for the future. We believe it is crucial for all to appreciate that, while aviation has changed over recent months, so has the noise experience for so many communities. It would be folly for the industry or government to believe that communities will tolerate noise in the future in the same way they did in the past.

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We see this as a great opportunity to rebuild the industry in a way that ensures noise management is at the core of planning for the future and we are heartened that there are others on both sides of the debate with a similar view. We understand that this will be difficult, and that the aviation industry will be short of resources, even as activity increases; however, we fear that the consequences of not embracing the chance to change will significantly impair the industry in the future.

As we show in our first-year review, we are working on a range of areas that together will help set out a roadmap for how aviation can rebuild in a different way and ensure that noise is managed in a more transparent and sustainable way. We have refocused some of our work and introduced new elements to ensure we are able to understand and reflect how noise impacts in a better way in the future.

We believe the plans will achieve greater consistency in process and practices, which will continue to build improved trust between airports and communities.

Rob Light

Head Commissioner, ICCAN

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Introduction

ICCAN was established at the start of 2019, to act as the independent and impartial advisory body on all matters relating to civil aviation noise and how it affects communities. We are now halfway through our first two-year Corporate Strategy and work programme, which we published in July 2019.

We set ourselves the aim of improving trust and public confidence in the management of aviation noise in the UK – our ambition is that, in time, the UK becomes the world leader in managing aviation noise. Our activity throughout our first two-year work programme is underpinned by that focus and, as we enter our second year, we are ready to deliver a number of the reports and guidance that we have spent the first year researching and developing.

We set out here (and in the tables in the Annex) our progress at the half-way point of our first Corporate Strategy.

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Our first year (2019-20)

We started the year with one ICCAN board member – Head Commissioner, Robert Light – and four supporting staff, located in temporary offices in Guildford. We finish it with a full board of five commissioners, a supporting secretariat of 14 staff with two more to come, and an established permanent office base in Woking.

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Having set out our work programme in April 2019, consulted on it and made changes to our priorities based on the responses we received, we have delivered almost all of the year one targets we set ourselves (set out in more detail in the Annex).

As well as establishing ourselves as a fully formed, expert and credible organisation, our first year was characterised by significant levels of engagement across the industry and beyond.

We have visited the top 20 airports in the UK – some multiple times – and have had 87 meetings with communities impacted by aviation noise, including face-to-face engagements as well as via representation at forums such as Airport Consultative Committees and Noise Advisory Boards. We have held 47 meetings with experts across a number of fields including academics, specialists and international airports to help us understand, and learn lessons about, how aviation noise is managed and studied elsewhere.

We have been invited to speak at 29 conferences or public meetings, and have become permanent members of, and active participants at, the Government’s Airspace Modernisation Board, Aviation Noise Engagement Group and Inter-Governmental Costs and Benefits Group on Noise. We have met and engaged with overseas governments (local, federal, national and supra-national), policy-makers and regulators on the issue of aviation noise around the world. And our profile has been such that we have been invited to observe and offer advice to key stakeholder and delivery bodies, such as both Heathrow and Luton’s Noise Envelope Design Groups, Gatwick’s Noise Management Board and dozens of Airport Consultative Committee meetings across the country.

This level of initial engagement was deliberate, targeted and for good reason. In order to establish ourselves as credible, authoritative and an essential part of the aviation landscape, it was vital to understand the issues from all sides of the debate. It has been crucial in developing our own knowledge, network, and reputation as an expert body. We have been heartened by the willingness of stakeholders across the sector – including industry and communities – to embrace our arrival on the scene, and to move quickly to view us as a go-to organisation for advice on noise related matters.

Our engagement also enabled us to identify where the priorities lay; for example, it led to us prioritising our review into the Survey of Noise Attitudes (SoNA) 2014, which plays a role informing government and airport expansion policy. We published our first report in December 2019, which contained a thorough review of SoNA and set out a clear roadmap for how we would develop a new approach to attitudinal surveys.

We have since contracted a research agency to help us design the new series of surveys and, with the involvement of communities, government and regulators, industry, and academia, we will make recommendations on the next series of surveys later this year.

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Our other priorities in year one included developing best practice for airports on consulting and engaging during airspace change design; and investigating and establishing an opinion on the complex issue of noise metrics. Having prepared to publish these in April 2020, once the scale of the Covid-19 pandemic – and its impact on the aviation industry – was clear, we decided to postpone delivering these two pieces of work while the communities and Government is rightly focussed on the immediate effects of the pandemic. We set out new plans for our publications in the tables in the Annex.

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Our second year (2020-21)

As we move into our second year of activity, the landscape ahead of us looks very different to that which we expected. The impact of Covid-19 on the world has been profound; on the aviation industry it has felt existential.

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We have considerable empathy for the economic and human impact from the vast reduction in aviation activity, and we have said that we stand ready to play a key role as the aviation industry rebuilds, as we are sure it will.

We recognise that communities and individuals have also experienced profound change.

It is not, and never has been, our role to have a view on the future expansion of the aviation industry, but as part of making the UK a world leader in managing aviation noise, we are determined to ensure that decisions taken in how the aviation industry rebuilds maximise the opportunity to improve noise management and mitigation and are as informed as possible.

As the industry begins to recover, our work in giving guidance on noise management will be more important than ever. While some of our work programme deliverables this year will be delayed due to the pandemic (through its impact on our own resources, and on those of partners we are working with), we will also be using the unique opportunity of such quiet skies to capture data – both quantitative and qualitative – about the use of the skies and people’s attitudes towards aviation noise during the pandemic. However, our work programme that we set out last year will remain the focus of our work over the coming months.

We intend to publish our opinion on metrics – postponed from April this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic – by the end of July 2020. In this report we will set out a roadmap towards publishing best practice on noise measurement, data use and transparency. It is clear to us that much needs to be done to increase public trust and understanding in the way in which aviation noise is measured and communicated to the public, and we will set out our role in providing direction, best practice and examples for the industry and government to follow.

As well as postponing our metrics work in April, we also held back the work we have done on a best practice toolkit on consultation for airspace change sponsors. One impact of Covid-19 is that nearly all airports have paused their airspace change processes, and the airspace modernisation programme has also been delayed. It is therefore unlikely that sponsors will be proceeding through the consultation stages of CAP1616, the CAA’s guidance on how to make airspace change proposals, any time soon.

We believe that airspace modernisation could be an important tool in managing the impact of aviation noise on communities, and once this programme, and the airspace change processes associated with it, has resumed we stand ready to deliver our best practice toolkit as well as other elements of our work programme relating to airspace changes, set out in the tables in the Annex.

During the summer of 2020 we will be collating and analysing quantitative and qualitative data on aviation noise and activity during what is the new normal of a

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quieter period in the skies. We hope this data will provide a unique baseline of how the skies are used in such low levels of activity, and shine a light on the way in which industry and community behaviours change when faced with such a crisis. Depending on what this analysis shows, we intend to continue with such research over the coming year to 18 months as the industry recovers – by building such an evidence base we will be able to make more informed recommendations to government and stakeholders as the industry rebuilds and activity increases.

Our work throughout 2020 continues to be focussed around our one main priority of advising the government on the future of aviation noise regulation and management. Given the impact of Covid-19 on aviation activity and the industry itself, we anticipate our views on the future of regulation evolving over the coming months. But we continue to work towards providing that advice by the end of 2020. Our report will also draw in our work on insulation and planning and land use – both of which overlap with our consideration about the future of regulation.

We are already clear that there will be an ongoing and evolving role for an independent noise body such as ICCAN in providing national leadership on the issue of managing aviation noise, whether it be through setting standards for noise measurements or insulation, leading on identifying the public health impacts of aviation noise, or advising government or planning authorities on expansion plans or airspace changes.

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Year 3 (2021-22) and beyond

The changing context for aviation means the challenges for our second corporate strategy period, from 2021 onwards, will be different from those we might have expected when we were established.

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We set out above, and will continue to do so in our future publications, the role that we see ICCAN playing in helping to shape the future of UK aviation as well as protecting the communities and public as levels of aviation activity recover. We will share more about our views for the future incarnation of ICCAN, and our exact role, when we advise Government on the future of aviation noise management. We are already thinking about how to build on the strong start we have made and how to continue to ensure that the UK is the world leader on managing aviation noise.

We want to innovate in our approach to engagement, measurement, transparency and decision-making. We will be anticipating advances in technological developments such as supersonic, electric aircraft and personal airborne vehicles, and will be at the forefront of efforts to ensure the regulation of their noise is considered throughout their development, and not as an afterthought.

As our thoughts evolve over the summer and autumn this year, we will be seeking people’s views on our next corporate strategy, and will welcome continuing the dialogue with all our stakeholders on the future of aviation noise management in the UK.

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Annex: Our two-year objectives and progress against them

1. Increase trust, transparency and clarity in the aviation noise debate

When What Marker of success

Timescale Progress after year one

Year 1 Build relationships with communities, industry and other stakeholders

Meet full range of airport representatives, experts, consultative committees and community groups

September 2019

Achieved – we have held close to 300 meetings with representatives from communities, industry and specialists and have spoken with hundreds more through our attendance at public meetings and conferences

Review the Survey of Noise Attitudes (SoNA) research outcomes, and make recommendations to the Government on the scope of future public opinion research

Make recommendations to Government on SoNA

December 2019

Achieved – we published our report on 18 December 2019, made recommendations and are proceeding with a development study to be reported by the end of 2020

Review the way in which airports consult with their communities when planning airspace changes, and offer guidance that is inclusive, effective and proportionate

Publish new best practice guidance

April 2020

Completed but not yet published – the consultation toolkit has been completed but with airspace changes being paused we await certainty from the CAA on their future.

Provide clarity on the airspace change process through the provision of easy-to-understand information that will be available on the ICCAN website

Produce easy-to-understand information

April 2020

Completed but not yet published – the work has been completed but with airspace changes being paused we await certainty from the CAA on their future. We have a suite of easy-to-understand information that will be made public on our website in the coming months.

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Review and consider the different metrics used for measuring and providing guidance on the management of aviation noise, in particular between the UK’s regime and the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance, and consider whether there are ways to ensure better public understanding and consistency

Produce an opinion on consistency in the use of noise metrics

April 2020

Publication due – the project has been completed but in the context of the Covid19 pandemic and its impact we postponed publication of this report until July 2020.

Year 2 Review the available evidence on the links between noise and health, and consider making recommendations for further study

Research scoping project and make recommendation on future piece of work examining the links between noise and health

September 2020

On track – our research is on timetable and we intend to publish this in September 2020. Our in-progress recruitment of a public health lead shows our commitment to this line of enquiry.

Continue to consider how we can best support communities in engaging with and understanding the airspace change process

Ongoing April 2021

On track – publication of our guidance and toolkit on airspace change will form part of this, subject to airspace change processes re-starting; we will continue to use our website, social media and external engagement channels to support communities.

Continue to develop and maintain relationships with communities, industry and other stakeholders

Ongoing April 2021

On track and ongoing – we continue to participate in and evolve our engagement across the sector.

Table 1 outlining ICCAN's objectives and planned activity for the next two years, relating to how ICCAN will increase trust, transparency and clarity in the aviation noise debate.

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2. Promote consistency, responsibility and accountability within the industry and

beyond

When What Marker of success

Timescale Progress after year one

Year 1 Develop and maintain best practice guidance about noise impacts for airspace change sponsors to take into account during the airspace change design process

This will form part of best practice guidance

April 2020

Completed but not yet published – the project has been completed but with airspace changes being paused we await certainty from the CAA on their future.

Year 2 Consider interaction between the airspace change decision-making process and the planning regime, to feed into our work on examining regulatory processes

Scope, research and make recommendations as part of a wider regulation review

September 2020

Continuing – with publication of wider regulation work likely to be delayed until later in the year due to the impact of Covid-19

Review existing enforcement mechanisms and consider whether further enforcement and regulatory powers are necessary and, if so, to which body they might be given

Make recommendations to Government

September 2020

Continuing – with publication delayed until later in the year due to the impact of Covid-19

Review the performance and consistency of the airports’ approach to noise insulation schemes, and provide guidance on best practice

Issue guidance

September 2020

Continuing – with publication delayed until later in the year due to the impact of Covid-19

Develop and maintain best practice guidance relating to the noise impacts of the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Post Implementation Review process for airspace changes

Develop guidance

April 2021

Reconsidering timing – pending discussions about airspace change processes being re-started

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Develop and maintain best practice guidance for the process to agree operating restrictions for airports and relevant competent authorities to take into account when considering noise management issues, including consideration of the design of noise envelopes when they are being developed as a means of limiting noise associated with airport development

Develop guidance

April 2021

Ongoing – with the potential for guidance to be delivered in year 3, depending on government policy on noise envelopes or other restrictions. This will form part of our work on regulation.

Consider developing best practice for the CAA on areas where it can apply its information powers

Develop guidance

April 2021

Ongoing – with the potential for guidance to be delivered in year 3

Consider our role in the monitoring and quality assurance of airport noise measurements and reporting, as well as how to enforce these

As part of two-year review

April 2021

On track and ongoing – this will be delivered as part of our noise metrics and measurement best practice

Review the application of and adherence to defined operational procedures, such as continuous descent operations, and feed into our work on examining regulatory processes

Review of operational procedures

April 2021

Ongoing – with the potential for guidance to be delivered in year 3

Table 2 Outlining how ICCAN will promote consistency, responsibility and accountability within the industry and beyond.

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3. Establish our expertise, authority and credibility

When What Marker of success

Timescale Progress after year one

Year 1

Participate fully in the Airspace Modernisation Programme

Attend and contribute to the Airspace Modernisation Board meetings

Quarterly Achieved – our Head Commissioner attended all meetings and we have worked closely with ACOG on airspace modernisation

If asked, provide expert noise advice to the Secretary of State for called-in decisions on airspace changes

Provide expert guidance as appropriate

When required

We have not yet been required to do so

Where appropriate, provide advice to The Planning Inspectorate on airport expansion proposals

Provide expert guidance as appropriate

When required

We were invited and attended the Planning Inquiry for Manston Airport’s expansion application, but have not yet been required to provide advice or guidance

Year 2 Examine the effectiveness of consultation in the Airspace Modernisation process looking at how improved aviation noise management has influenced individual proposals

Review to assess whether Airspace Modernisation process has achieved noise reduction outcomes, or is likely to

April 2021 Awaiting clarity on timing – we expect the current Covid19 pandemic to result in a delay to the Airspace Modernisation process

Where appropriate, provide advice to the CAA on airspace change sponsors’ adherence to any guidance we issue (under the CAP1616 process) and the post-implementation review process

Provide expert guidance as appropriate

When required

Awaiting clarity on timing – we will be in a position to provide such guidance once the airspace change process has re-started and we have issued our best practice guidance

Advise on best practice on information provision, and could provide advice on areas where it may be beneficial for the CAA to use its information powers to improve transparency and drive improvements

Consider current CAA approach to information powers

April 2021 Ongoing – with the potential for guidance to be delivered in year 3

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If asked, provide expert noise advice to the Secretary of State for called-in decisions on airspace changes

Provide expert guidance as appropriate

When required

We have not yet been required to do so

Where appropriate, provide advice to The Planning Inspectorate on airport expansion proposals

Provide expert guidance as appropriate

When required

We have not yet been required to do so

Table 3 Outlining how ICCAN will establish its expertise, authority and credibility.

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