Richmond Planes?

[PlaneNoiz]

AIBU to wonder why house prices are SO high in Richmond yet all you can hear are planes? We are moving to SW London ans deciding on areas and every house I’ve seen in Sheen/Richmond I can hardly bear the estate agent speak because of plane noise! Is this normal? We have a large budget but wondering why people pay so much for so much noise? Or is it just this time of year and directions of planes etc?

Plane noise might really bother you, but it doesn't bother everyone. I guess it's like saying 'Why do people pay millions for a flat in Belgravia when you can hear traffic noise all the time?' The traffic noise is just part and parcel of what you expect if you buy a place in the middle of a city. Similarly, planes are just part and parcel of what you expect if you buy near Heathrow.

Also, if you're used to it you just don't even really notice it any more. I grew up in the flight path from Stanstead and my DP grew up very near Heathrow (much nearer to it than Richmond!) and neither of us remember thinking anything of the noise of planes.

@PlaneNoiz use the "Webtrak my neighbourhood" link and enter a suburb or postcode. It's best done on a big screen. You can toggle the view for arrivals and departures and for other factors too.

Good friend of mine lived in grounds of Windsor Castle and she had a beautiful little cottage but the planes were so low and loud !

I lived there when I first moved to London in the late 90s. I got used to ignoring most of the planes, but back then Concord was still flying so twice a day the noise was so extreme that things used to get shaken off the shelves!
I did love living in central Richmond but honestly wouldn't live there again due to the noise (and potential risk of finding dead bodies in the garden!)

Thank you so much everyone for sharing your experiences and links. A lot of thinking. It’s a shame as I really liked some of the houses!

Ham is less affected. We are in st Margaret’s and don’t hear it too much. Avoid Mortlake barnes and Chiswick. A nightmare. Sat in a friends garden in barnes one summer and a jumbo went overhead. Maybe 200 metres above us. I love planes but even that was too much.

@PlaneNoiz I would look towards Ham, Teddington, Surbiton and north Kingston - having lived there too it was way less than other bits we lived in in SW London ( we rent so a fair few houses )!

We don’t notice it much… except in summer when quantas planes are overhead… then we have to stop our convos in the garden. It depends on wind direction, it tends to be worse in summer, but that’s also cos we’re outside more. It’s very bearable! And the area being so lovely makes up for it.

Schools in the area are good, but to be honest if you can afford private you will still find they are better. There are lots of excellent private schools around here. If you’ve got a ‘large budget’ you’ll find your neighbours send their kids private mostly.

Kingston is much quieter and has some excellent state schools. If you have a good budget look at the Coombe estate and surrounding areas.

There is a variation in flight paths as posters have mentioned, but if Heathrow is on westerlies (landing towards the west, and that’s the majority of days) then everything inbound routes via overhead western/central London and all that variation really means is a runway shift on arrivals from left/right or vice versa at (?) 1500 local. That at equates to the ground track (and so noise) moving maybe a mile north or south as appropriate.

If the wind favours the easterlies then the climb outs from Heathrow splay out to try and avoid London and hopefully Richmond shouldn’t get overflown.

This was in The Independent a few days ago:-

www.independent.co.uk/happylist/britain-s-happiest-place-to-live-richmond-b2483406.html

To add for the OP..

On the basis that a picture is worth a thousand words using one of the flight tracking sites and zooming in on Richmond should give an accurate idea of what goes on.

ATM (1410UK time Thursday) looks like landings at Heathrow are on the right of the two westerlies, they’ll shift to the left at (I think from memory1500.)

The choice AM verse PM runways alternate on a weekly basis, and the rules are subject to some flexibility, especially early AM.

www.flightradar24.com/

Wow thank you so much mumsnet! I will do some intense research! Very grateful.

That’s really interesting. The primaries looked really good for state and would rather send there than spend 40-60k a year on fees for the kids particularly if buying a nice house!

Everything is relative. My kids' primary in Twickenham certainly had plenty of parents living in £1.5M+ houses.

They probably wouldn't have been able to afford private schools due to high mortgage costs - there was a strong trend for "interest only" mortgages on the assumption that they would downsize at some point in future.

A house can be sold, usually at profit, after your kids leave home. A private education can't.

I love Richmond and don't recall the planes being too bad - Kew seems worse. I think the river, architecture and amenities make up for the noise.

Yes bud if I’m happy with a state education at schools in the area that’s my decision. Don’t bash state schools.

Hope that comment wasn't aimed at me. If it was, you got the wrong end of the stick. Ruchmond Borough has fantastic state schools, which my kids have benefitted from. I know very few families that have gone private.

We lived in East Sheen for 20 years (only moved recently), at first I thought we had made a huge mistake with the noise but after a few months it stopped bothering me as much. It seemed to be louder for one week every six weeks or so,

It is also a lot louder when it's cloudy! As pp said it was very strange in lockdown with no planes overhead.

East Sheen really is a lovely place to live especially if you have kids (the don't call it the East Sheen bubble for nothing!). I miss it!

At least you are aware of it. There was a poster on here (or was it Facebook) had it moved that way and totally hadn't realised they were on the flight path. Think were seeing if everyone else living there thought the same and wanted to get the planes redirected (failing to appreciate that everyone else had been aware of the planes).
I live under the Biggin Hill stack, and find the planes (although higher up) a great back ground noise.