Helping our local community enjoy quieter homes
We appreciate the impact aircraft noise can have on residents living near us. It’s why we run one of the most generous Sound Insulation Schemes (SIS) in the UK.
How it works
Every year, independent acoustic consultants assess our noise contours, then we work out which properties may be eligible for the SIS. We publish these properties in our Annual Performance Report (APR) each July. If your property becomes eligible, we will automatically contact you to explain how you can benefit.
What SIS involves
If your home is eligible, the sound insulation works involve treating habitable rooms (bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms and kitchen diners) to upgrade external windows and doors. You also have the option to receive acoustic ventilation, in line with the sound insulation standards in the Noise Insulation Regulations. Treated properties are inspected every 10 years.
Please note: if your property has a separate freeholder and/or leaseholder, LCY need their permission before any work can begin.
Who’s eligible?
Our 3-tier scheme offers sound insulation treatment to eligible residential properties which fall within specific ranges of noise, detailed below.
If you’ve recently bought or rented an untreated property which you think may be eligible, please send the following details to sound.insulation@londoncityairport.com:
Full address, including house/flat number, road name + postcode
Your relationship to the property (tenant, leaseholder or freeholder)
A contact number
Contact details for the freeholder or managing agent of the property (if you’re NOT the freeholder)
Properties are NOT eligible for treatment:
If planning permission was granted (and the property built) after 27th April 2016
If your property’s planning permission required an acoustic standard equal to or greater than the one LCY offers – unfortunately we cannot provide anything to improve the sound insulation
TIER 1: For properties within the widest geographical area
Properties within the 57 dB LAeq,16h daytime noise contour (Tier 1) are eligible for works to achieve an average sound reduction of no less than 25 dB.
If eligible, we offer:
Single glazed properties – secondary glazing OR thermal double glazing, plus acoustic ventilators
Double glazed properties – acoustic ventilators
The daytime noise contour level (detailed above) which makes a property eligible for Tier 1 is stricter than at other UK airports. Some local homes are not eligible for Tier 1 works if they were built inside our noise contours after certain dates. This is because those property developers were aware of the airport’s growth and noise impact, thus were required to install adequate sound insulation at the time of construction.
INTERMEDIATE TIER
As part of our City Airport Development Programme (CADP) permission, we introduced an additional intermediate tier (Tier 3) in our 2017 APR for properties within the 63 dB LAeq,16h noise contour.
If a property is eligible, we offer:
Option 1: Secondary glazing and sound attenuating ventilators
Installation managed by LCY
Option 2: £3,000 (index linked) towards the cost of installing high acoustic performance double glazing and sound attenuating ventilators
Installation managed by property owner, or resident with owner’s permission
With this option, windows need to satisfy specific requirements to qualify under the SIS. LCY pays the contribution after the windows are installed.
Read more on LCY Sound Insulation Scheme – Intermediate Tier
TIER 2: For properties closest to the airport
We offer eligible properties within the 66 dB LAeq,16h noise contour (Tier 2) a higher standard of noise reduction. Following CADP, the SIS scheme covers the full cost of high-performance double glazing.
Got a question?
If you want to know more about our SIS scheme, please email sound.insulation@londoncityairport.com.