Royal Wharf, Double Glazing Won't Block Out All Noise

I have shown in previous blog posts that the Royal Wharf site is situated very near the London City Airports.  

London City - More than 200 Flight Movements A Day
This Airport has more than 200 flight movements a day, on average. It has permission to operate up to 120,000 flight movements per year, currently it is operating about 70,000 flight movements a year.

Double Glazing
The issue to be addressed in this blog post is whether the double glazed windows as promised by the developer of Royal Wharf would be useful. Some agents I have talked to on the noise issue give me the impression that these windows will block out all noise, like magic.

What Can Double Glazing Do?
What exactly is double-glazing and what type of double glazing is being used? Another way to ask this question is as follows - how many decibels of noise can double-glazing cut? With these research questions in mind, we can start searching the Internet and/or asking experts.

Findings - Normal Double Glazing Reduce Noise by 20 Decibels
Here is what I found, and I stand corrected (since I am not an expert on double-glazing). Typically, double-glazing windows can only reduce the noise by 20 decibels, which isn't too bad. 

The best noise reduction results I have seen so far is what is called a laminated acoustic double glazing window which can reduce noise levels by up to 35 decibels. Source: www.double-glazing-info.com

Now, what type of double-glazing is the developer installing for the unit? It is not clear from the marketing collateral. What is very clear, however, is that double-glazing doesn't work like magic to cut out all the noise.
The next logical question to ask is this. How loud are the planes when they take off? 

See this video where a person measures the sound of a passing plane. It reaches a whopping 81 decibels. 

If your double-glazed windows can only block out 20 decibels of noise, it means that you still have 60 decibels coming in. 60 decibels is as loud as a normal conversation. You may think that sounds reasonable.

But think of it this way. Every time the plane takes off or land (200 movements a day), you have to hear somebody 'talking' to you, even though you don't want to hear that person. Bearable?

Don't forget, your double-glazed windows would help cut noise if and ONLY IF, they are shut. Wait a second, isn't that obvious? What's the big deal?

Royal Wharf Units have No Air-Conditioning
Do you know that the Royal Wharf units do not come with air-conditioning? Before you scream at the developer, cool down and realise that this is London, not Singapore. Only the very high-end UK properties and developments come with some type of heating plus air-conditioning system. The bulk of residential developments only have heating elements.

Ok, so what's the point?

Rely on Natural Ventilation
UK properties, even London properties, rely on fresh natural air for their day-to-day air circulation! People leave their windows open. They expect to be able to leave their windows open for the fresh air.

Now you see what I am driving at? People in London would like to leave their windows open. In summer, when it gets warmer, would you want to live in a flat that you can't open the windows lest 80+ decibels of aircraft noise overwhelms you?  Oh, whatever the case, do buy a fan for the summer. It may help the stuffiness. 

Anyway, Noise is to Be Expected in a City 
Well, London is a big city and not the countryside, therefore some level of noise is to be expected.  Given that the Royal Wharf development doesn't face a main road, one can expect little if any noise from traffic. Also, the London City Airport does have flight time restrictions, so you shouldn't be disturbed at night. 

Happy Investing!

Back to Royal Wharf Landing Page

Royal Wharf - Noise Update - It is Noisy!

In my earlier post, I showed that the Royal Wharf plot is very near the flight-path of incoming and outgoing jets.  When the planes land from the west, it passes by the Royal Wharf plot 15 to 20 seconds before touchdown.

To refresh our memories, see this screenshot of a plane landing.

Pontoon Dock DLR very near the flightpath of London City Airport Traffic

Wrong Information Given By Sales Agent on Direction of Landings/Takeoffs? 
Some friends told me that during the sales presentations (in Singapore), the presenter brushed off questions related to noise and claimed that planes usually take off and land from the East, so the noise is minimized.

This is incorrect.  Planes do land from the west, very often.  Just look at the two videos in my earlier post. In fact, it planes also take off into the West  - i.e. full engine power as they take off, passing Pontoon Dock DLR!

Inputs from People Familiar with London City Airport
I got some inputs from people familiar with the area.  Excerpts here:

"Whilst they aren't large aircraft, any property around Pontoon Dock will suffer from fairly significant aircraft noise.  This is especially true during the morning/evening wave of arrivals/departures.  Aircraft generally depart in a westerly direction from London City Airport, so departures will be more of an issue for you."

Yet another wrote this,

"Pontoon Dock is noisy, Canary Wharf is noisy enough to have aircraft noise as a nuisance if you lived there.  Pontoon Dock does suffer from noise if I am being honest....the days of "only the quietest aircraft using your local airport" are long gone.  Embraers and A318s sound like *real* aeroplanes at take-off power. #myearsarebleeding"

The most detailed & most instructive quote,

"The planes have to rev up a lot to take off on the short runway and also brake when landing.  I had friends at Western Beach (end of the dock, west side) and you could hear the noise from takeoff until it flew overhead.  For about 15 seconds conversation was difficult if windows were open - something they only discovered in the summer as the flat was on sale in the winter and viewings were cleverly arranged for Saturday afternoon when the airport was shut.

"Visited a friend at an apartment next to the Excel centre and the planes were audible from the dock facing rooms with the windows shut.

"I go to Thames Barrier park occasionally (next to Pontoon Dock) on a Sunday afternoon and you do hear the planes.  I once went early midweek in the summer and was shocked at how frequently the planes landed and took off from there as the park was particularly quiet, but the whine of the jets surprised me.  It's a bit muffled at first from the other buildings, but when it clears the sky it's loud.  I don't mind as I like planes, but anyone that's noise sensitive won't."

Are These People Exaggerating?
That is an excellent question, and indeed, we should critically assess all views.  Let us look at some video evidence.



Here is a very instructive video showing you the decibel reading. It exceeds 80.

Notice that from the above 2 videos, the planes are already relatively high up in the sky.  Look back to how low the plane will be when it flies near the future site of Royal Wharf.

Tell me an Airbus A318 isn't noisy.

Conclusion
As the old saying goes, Caveat Emptor - Let the Buyer Beware!

For overseas investors, buying a property without actually walking the actual site is very challenging.  In the past, this would be impossible.  Today, the UK property market, especially London Property market is much more open to international investors.  You can find a tremendous amount of independent information on the UK property market, just by surfing the net and reading credible articles.  Remember to do you homework carefully, especially if you plan to invest in the UK property market.

More Videos

British Airways A318 taking off into the west from London City Airport



Just Alitalia Jet Taking Off


Check out the busy traffic at London City Airport


Bird song drowned out by Plane Taking Off




Night Take-off, into the West.  Beautiful night scenery, over O2 Arena, and then over all the Canary Wharf skyscrapers.

 

Royal Wharf - Too near London City Airport? (Noise Issues)

Royal Wharf - Noisy due to Proximity to London City Airport?

Investors ought to be aware that the Royal Docks area (Including Royal Wharf) is very near the London City Airport.  London City Airport has a single 1,500M long runway. It carried about 3Mil passengers in 2012, and had more than 70,000 aircraft movements.  Airport Website.

The aircraft operated is smaller due to the runway length, usually the AVRO Jet or Bombardier Jets.  The largest aircraft certified to operate out of London City is the Airbus A318.

British Airways A318 at London City Airport

How Close Is the Airport to Royal Wharf?
Take a look at this snapshot from Google Maps.  See where Pontoon Dock is? The flight path takes the plane over the water, however, it is very near the buildings.

How Near Is That?
Watch the following Youtube Video to get a sense of just how close the aircraft is to the ground as it passes the Royal Wharf plot.  Beautiful views of the landing.  Pay attention at 6:48 mark, you can see the Ponton Dock DLR station (right under the right wing).  You can see a green patch which is Thames Barrier Park.  The plot to the right of the park would be Royal Wharf. Near?



Landing - Plane Passes Pontoon Dock XX seconds before Touchdown
Review the above carefully:
6:50 - Plane passes Pontoon Dock DLR
7:07 - Plane wheels touches the runway

This means the plane passes the Pontoon Dock DLR area just 15 to 20 seconds before touchdown.

To make is clearer, see this screenshot of the video at 6:48 and marked out the areas.

London City Night Landing 
I enjoyed this cockpit video of Landing, thanks to the beautiful night scenery.  Isn't London amazing? Enjoy!

1:49 - flying over Canary Wharf (see the tall buildings)
2:06 - see the O2 Arena very clearly (like an inverted cup)
2:36 - approaching the brightly lit runway
2:45 -see the blue lights, that is the front of London Excel (Royal Wharf would be on the right side)
3:07- see the cars going horizontally just before the start of runway lights, that is Connaught Bridge




CONCLUSION - A GREAT PLACE TO TAKE PLANE PHOTOGRAPHS!
When I was walking that area, no aircraft flew in, so I do not have first hand experience on how noisy, or not noisy, the airport would be.  The good thing is that modern aircraft tend to be less noisy, and the aircraft operating out of London City have to fit into certain Noise Categories. That said, there will still be noise. Just how much?  I don't know for sure.  If anybody has been at Pontoon Dock, watching the planes land, do leave a comment to share your experience please.

What I know for sure is that you can take many beautiful pictures of jets taking off and landing at London City airport, if you live in that area!

Noise Issue Update
See this newer blog post for an update on the noise issue - it is noisy!!.  I managed to get updates from people familiar with the area.  The overwhelming conclusion is that the noise would be an issue.  And there may be even more noise in the future as London City Airport is seeking approval for a £200M expansion.
If approved, the expansion would accommodate 50,000 additional flights every year as long as serve bigger (i.e. more noisy) planes!

Plane landing, see the O2 Arena and Canary Wharf in the background

Planes parked at London City Airport - Busy, busy!

Other types of aircraft that operate from London City Airport:

Avro Jet

ATR 72, turboprop