The Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Western Sydney Airport contains a noise contour option that would stop over 10,000 new homes, says the Urban Taskforce.
“Tucked away in the massive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Badgerys Creek Airport are statements and maps that propose a new method of defining noise contours called the National Airports Safeguarding Framework (NASF),” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson. “The NSW Planning System has been using the Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF) noise contour system for 27 years, and it has been recently reviewed and endorsed by Australian Standards in the Standard AS 2021. Some aviation agencies in the Federal Government have been championing the introduction of a new metric called NASF that would extend the noise contours to prevent residential development on land currently zoned for new housing around the proposed airport.”
“There are many references to the NASF noise contour system throughout the EIS, including a statement on page 122 of volume 3 which states- ‘The implementation of Guideline A: Measures for Managing Impacts of Aircraft Noise under the NASF would be instrumental in managing potential future operational noise impacts for future land use planning and development around the proposed airport.’”
“Guideline A of NASF prohibits residential development where (d) ‘more than 6 events between the hours of 11pm to 6am which create a 60 db(A) (decibels) or greater noise impact’. As the Western Sydney Airport is proposed as being curfew free and operational 24 hours a day this measure is the relevant control. The N60 -6 events has been mapped in the EIS at Figure 31-34 for Prefer 05 operating strategy (2063) and this clearly indicates extensive light blue shaded areas that affect the proposed housing release areas at Austral, Marsden Park and existing housing in Blacktown and South of Penrith.”
“The Urban Taskforce believes that at least 10,000 proposed new homes could be stopped if the NASF Guideline A was introduced to manage noise impacts for land use planning. There are also significant areas of existing housing that could be deemed to have excessive noise problems if the NASF system is implemented.”
“The Urban Taskforce calls on the Federal Government to rule out the adoption of the NASF noise contour system to ensure that land released by the NSW Government for new housing can proceed. We also call on the NSW Government to commit to the current ANEF noise contour system and to ensure that the NASF system is not used to determine land use planning outcomes.”
“Sydney needs over 33,000 new homes a year according to the NSW Department of Planning but last financial year the housing completions were 5,000 below this target. It is essential that greenfield housing planned around Badgerys Creek airport can go ahead and the Environmental Impact Statement must be amended to allow this.”
See map showing noise contours overlapping proposed development at Austral and Marsden Park:
