Reflections on Community Sessions with the UK Aviation Minister

Last week I had the privilege of hosting both the UK Government’s Aviation Minister, Keir Mather MP and local communities in two sessions of community engagement. The two sessions were designed as an opportunity for the Minister to listen directly to communities and understand some of the issues that matter most to them as the Government considers the future policy framework for Heathrow expansion.

Although there were many relevant issues to discuss in advance of Thursday’s meeting, we made the decision to focus one session on aircraft noise and the other on the Compulsory Purchase Zone (CPZ) and Heathrow Villages. These issues had come top in our recent Kaizen report, with ‘reducing noise impacts’ in the top 40% of concerns and with the CPZ / Heathrow Villages representing the communities most impacted by expansion.

We hoped that this would ensure that each hour-long session would effectively deliver the depth of lived experience, concerns on what the implications to the communities of expansion could be, and ensure a respectful, constructive dialogue. I am happy to say that the consensus was that we did just that.

These sessions fulfilled both our Airport Consultative Committee and Community Engagement board functions with issues raised relating to both expansion and the here and now of day-to-day operations. I was particularly struck by the Minister’s important observation that many of the day-to-day issues raised, which have a significant impact on quality of life, need cross-department support and that he would do his best to raise them with his colleagues.

At CISHA we work to deliver a variety of engagement formats to ensure the discussion environment is conducive to the needs of all.  Sometimes that can be as small as 1-on-1 or, in the case of our June ‘Open Forum’, closer to 100. On this occasion we created two sessions of 7 and 10 participants drawn from diverse backgrounds, with different viewpoints and, in the case of noise, from ‘all points of the compass’. These numbers ensured that, with an hour for each session, there was an opportunity for everyone to speak meaningfully. On the day it helped that we were able to extend the second session to ensure every point was captured.

My job as chair was to provide a light touch to ensure everyone could have their say, drawing from their experience as residents, as educator, as clinician, as charity sector workers and volunteers. We never claim to be able to represent everyone at every session, large or small that we host, but we work hard to deliver diversity of background and outlook.

Every participant made their points clearly, passionately, respectfully. Different views but a reminder that differences of opinion can be expressed in the context of a respectful environment in a way which generates more insight and sometimes consensus and solutions.

In closing I need to give three thanks. To the community attendees who gave so freely of their time and who delivered their opinions and insights so clearly. To the Minister who showed, with his powerful summing up after each session, that he had heard every point ‘loud and clear’ and lastly to my CISHA colleagues Tony, Tiana and Rebecca who delivered an engagement environment which worked.

Mark A Izatt

Deputy Chair