Fulham trees give third runway the pip
Thursday November 26, 2009
Anti-expansion campaigners have planted an apple orchard on the site of Heathrow airport’s proposed third runway as a symbol of west London’s opposition.
Gavin and Stacey actress Alison Steadman and Richard Briers, from the Good Life, joined members of the 2M Group to dig the orchard on the runway site earlier this month.
The 2M tree is a Fearns Pippin which were first grown in 1780 by Richard Bagley of Fulham. The Bagleys were a well-known farming and market-gardening family in Fulham in the nineteenth century – know locally as the 'Kings of Fulham'.
Cllr Nicholas Botterill, speaking on behalf of the 2M Group, said: “Heathrow Airport is like a large shrub in a neighbour’s garden – acceptable when properly maintained, but a damaging nuisance if it is left to grow unchecked.
“This orchard will become a symbol for the millions of people who oppose uncontrolled Heathrow expansion and believe it is time to reach for the shears.”
The orchard was planted on land which was bought by Greenpeace from under the noses of BAA earlier this year. The land is now co-owned by around 60,000 anti-expansion campaigners from across the world.
Alison Steadman said she thought the orchard was a brilliant idea and that plans to have bees on the site would ensure the land produced “Heathrow honey instead of Heathrow runways”.
In January the Government signalled the go-ahead for a third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow despite concerns from the cross-party coalition of councils, residents’ and green groups.
93 per cent of H&F residents said they were against expansion in a poll of more than 4,000 people last year. A fully operational third runway will allow the number of flights to rocket from 480,000 to 702,000 by 2030 – equivalent to building a new airport the size of Gatwick in the most densely populated part of the country.
But in August, the High Court ruled that an alliance of local authorities, residents groups and environmental organisations can present their case against the plans for a third runway and extra night flights. H&F Council is among a core group of six local authorities that will now help to support a legal challenge, which is expected to be heard in the New Year.
The 2M Group is a cross-party alliance of local authorities concerned about the impact of Heathrow expansion on local residents. The group, which took its name from the 2 million residents of the original 12 authorities, now has 24 members representing a combined population of more than 5 million people.
For more information visit www.2mgroup.org.uk (opens new window).
