House price fear over night flights

RESIDENTS under Heathrow's flight path face the threat of falling property prices after a court ruling opened the way for unlimited night landings at the airport.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled night flights are not a breach of human rights - dashing residents' hopes of a complete ban on them at Heathrow.

The decision strengthened the hand of the Government to increase the number of take-offs or landings from 16 a night when the current limit comes to an end in 2005.

Campaigners fear the Government will come under pressure from airlines to allow hundreds more night flights each year - and claim it could ruin thousands of people's sleep. Large parts of west and south-west London, as well as areas including Windsor and parts of Slough, Berkshire, face a fall in house prices if there is a drastic increase.

John Wriglesworth, housing economist with property price monitor Hometrack, said: 'This decision opens the door to more and more night flights. By 2005, when the full impact is felt, prices in some areas will undoubtedly go down. They may fall faster, or perhaps rise more slowly than in quieter neighbourhoods.'

His views are privately shared by a number of west London estate agents.

John Stewart, chairman of the Heathrow Area Campaign Against Noise, said the Government 'could open the flood gates in 2005. It would come as a surprise if they did so, as it would be a public relations disaster, but it is a concern,' he said. 'If the floodgates did open and we were deluged with night flights house prices are certainly going to fall.

'It could even happen in areas that are currently very desirable, such as Kew and Richmond, because people will not be getting a good night's sleep.'

The European Court judgment said there was no evidence that the current regime of 16 flights a night had made an impact on house prices. But it did not consider the effect of a massive rise in the number of planes taking off and landing between 11pm and 6am.

Already people under the flight path claim they suffer disruption from the early morning landings which dominate the 16 permitted aircraft movements.

And they fear the building of Terminal 5 and the possibility of a third runway will raise the pressure from airlines to permit far more.