New Sydney airport noise could impact thousands but about 90 homes eligible for free insulation

Noise from the new western Sydney airport won’t force the acquisition of nearby properties, but dozens will be eligible for free home insulation to dull sound. About 90 properties will be eligible for free insulation to dull the noise of 480 weekly flights out of western Sydney airport under a preliminary plan. The federal government on Tuesday released the draft environmental impact statement for Sydney’s second international airport, outlining how its planned flight trajectories will force planes using Sydney’s existing Kingsford Smith airport to tweak their paths over the city. The draft also included mitigation measures for sound. It says between 7,000 and 12,000 residents will experience five or more aircraft noises a day as loud as a washing machine once the airport reaches capacity. That level of noise is enough to interrupt indoor conversations if windows are open. Depending on the direction of travel, up to 84,500 people could be exposed to two events as loud as a conversation each night. But the report estimates that only 91 homes and other premises fall in the zone eligible to receive free insulation to abate noise. Insulation measures include installing thicker windows, sealing gaps, improving roof insulation and solidifying external doors. No properties will have to be acquired for being inside a noisier zone adjacent to the airport, although nearby residents can apply for consideration. While the number of those eligible appears low, the draft report says as few as five properties would have been eligible if the criteria used for Sydney airport was applied.<br/>