Time for Heathrow rethink

Friday June 19, 2009

The appointment of a new Transport Secretary provides a golden opportunity to have a radical rethink about a possible third runway at Heathrow according to the 2M Group.

Geoff Hoon MP is succeeded by Lord Adonis and a group of 24 local authorities – representing more than 5 million people – argue that the appointment is an ideal chance to move the Government’s policy on the airport in a new direction.

Speaking on behalf of the 2M Group, Cllr Nick Botterill says: “Lord Adonis now has the chance to take a long, hard look at just how this massive airport expansion plan squares with the Government’s key policies on climate change.”

H&F Council’s Leader, Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, met with Lord Adonis – who was then a junior transport minister – in February to call for a high-speed rail hub in the north of the borough.

Instead of a costly and environmentally damaging third runway the council wants a high-speed rail link, linking Heathrow to Birmingham in the north and Gatwick to the south, as a way of bringing thousands of extra homes and jobs to the borough. A link in the Old Oak area, north of Wormwood Scrubs, could become a major new transport hub for the UK according the council.

On a tour of the West London railway line, Cllr Greenhalgh pointed out the massive potential of the Old Oak site and urged the minister to throw his weight behind creating a hub with a Crossrail station and High Speed 2 link.

The council believes the 32-hectare site, which is mainly owned by Network Rail, could become one of the capital’s busiest interchanges, with train links to Heathrow and Bristol to the west, Birmingham to the north, and Clapham and Gatwick to the south.

“We know Lord Adonis is enthusiastic about high speed rail,” continues Cllr Botterill. “But we have to get him to see a national network of high speed rail links – with a major hub at Old Oak – would provide a genuine alternative to short haul flights.”