Heath grow No

Campaigners against a third runway at Heathrow have taken the fight to Westminster.

Representatives from local residents groups joined council officials, at a session with Lord Derry Irvine, last week to scrutinise the government’s controversial proposals to build another runway at the airport.

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon triggered outrage – and flew in the face of local public opinion – by giving approval for a third runway in January. 93 per cent of H&F residents said they were against expansion in a poll of more than 4,000 people last year.

A third runway at the airport will allow the number of flights to rocket from 480,000 to 702,000 by 2030 but Secretary Hoon tried to deflect criticism by banning ‘mixed-mode’ on the two existing runways. Although these two runways will continue to operate as they do now, with runway alternation in place, the third runway will operate in mixed mode and be used for both departures and arrivals. This will mean areas like Hammersmith and parts of Shepherds Bush get no respite from additional flights. Fulham is already badly affected by aircraft noise, especially in the early hours of the morning.

Councillor Paul Bristow, Cabinet Member for Residents Services, was joined at Westminster by representatives from the Harbledown Area Residents Association and the Hammersmith Embankment Residents Association. He said: “I asked Lord Irvine about the government report which shows that people become significantly annoyed at an average noise level of 50 decibels – compared to the 57 decibels thought previously. The report suggests that, if a third runway is built, far more residents in Hammersmith & Fulham will feel the affects of even more aircraft noise overhead.”

The area affected by the 57 decibel marker runs from Windsor to Barnes – a population of 258,000. But if the line is drawn at 50 decibels this takes in a much larger area running from Slough and Maidenhead to Clapham Common and Battersea. The area covers more than 2 million people including H&F residents.

Cllr Bristow added: “We need the policymakers and bureaucrats sat in Whitehall to realise this massive expansion is the equivalent to building a new airport the size of Gatwick in the most densely populated part of the country.

“Having been to Westminster and heard the arguments for a third runway, I remain convinced that they are based on pretty flimsy economic arguments that do not stand much scrutiny. Even if they did, what is the point of having an economy that blights the lives of the people it is supposed to help? If the third runway is built it will introduce another flight path over the borough, disturbing residents with flights from early morning to late at night.”

H&F Council is a member of the 2M Group which is an all-party alliance of local authorities concerned at the impact of Heathrow expansion on residents. Officials from the 2M Group are meeting with lawyers to discuss a legal challenge to the government’s plans for a third runway.