In January 2017 the London Borough of Wandsworth and the Acoustics Group of London South Bank University agreed to collaborate on a project to quantify and assess the noise emissions generated by the London Heliport operation. This heliport is located by the river Thames in Battersea, in the vicinity of dense high rise and affluent housing. The project also included a study of the subjective response and impact of the noise emissions on the health and well-being of local residents. The project was undertaken by Prof Stephen Dance and Dr Luis Gomez-Agustina and run for 6 months over the Spring/Summer of 2017. The work was reported to the London Heliport Consultative Group (LHCG), of which Steve and Luis are members.

The subjective and objective results showed a high incidence on a large number of affected residents. The findings suggested that the London Heliport is a danger to health with medium risk of long term health effects (hyper tension, higher cortisol levels, and the possible of cardiac arrest).

The subjective part of the study showed that a large majority of respondents felt extremely annoyed or disturbed by helicopter noise when windows were open or closed. Noise emissions from the heliport operation caused adverse impacts on the quality of life and well-being of the vast majority of respondents.

The novel study has been widely reported in the national media including the BBC. Findings of the objective and subjective parts were separately presented at two international conferences in 2019. A peer reviewed article has been published in the Noise and Health journal, October 2020.

The authors continue to advise the consultative group. They are currently working on extending the study to create a prediction model and modernise the complaint handling system with the aim to inform legislators and decision makers.