From aircraft to selfish neighbours, noise pollution seems unavoidable even in the countryside, and the government is moving at a glacial pace to tackle it, say our readers
As the coordinator of Hacan (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise), I applaud Coco Khan’s article for recognising noise as a serious health issue (Shout it from the rooftops: the noise pollution in towns and cities is killing us, 10 April). This is one that continues to fly beneath the radar and requires serious action from the government at all levels.
According to the European Environment Agency, noise pollution is the second largest environmental threat to health, causing 12,000 premature deaths a year. Indeed, at Heathrow, at least 725,000 people are currently exposed to aircraft noise, with that figure expected to more than double should a third runway ever be built.
