Flying Lawyer.
I was one of the early replies in this thread. To be very clear. The concern I raised was specifically about helicopter noise. I make no complaint about City airport and it would be hypocritical if I did. I use LCY frequently – and having it almost on my doorstep is a huge asset. As to choosing to live near an airport, when I moved to this area there were still ships being unloaded in Royal Docks and no one had ever landed a Dash7 on Herons Quay.
Back to this proposal. You may be right that there isn't a helicopter noise issue in Kensington/Chelsea. There is a problem in Greenwich / Isle of Dogs. Ironically the problem may be more prominent here because this part of London is comparatively quiet during the night and at weekends.
You say that if I want some peace I should live in the suburbs. I would rather eat worms. I do not want to spend hours of my life in a packed train, hours from my work and away from the amenities of the inner city. Although I chose to live in the inner City, that doesn’t mean I accept that everyone living in zones 1 and 2 has to put up with all night noise. I agree that there are some parts of central London where noise is inevitable and part of the territory, but there are lots of residential areas across inner London where the residents have a right to some sleep.
Right on cue to this debate there was another loud helicopter last night, at 2240. I don’t pretend to know whether civil or mil but I do know that had I been looking to get an early night it would have woken me. The nuisance value of a heli passing low, a deafening whumpa whumpa, (whether that happens to be overhead at 700 or 1500 feet) is on a completely different scale from the distant hum of a late arriving long haul heavy heading into Heathrow. (And of course - there is no night noise from CIty because it has a night curfew).
And your final paragraph. I do have a house in the country. I do hear the Church bells on Sunday morning when I’m staying there. I have never complained about them. But lets stick to the issue of helicopter noise nuisance over the most densely populated area of Britain.