Council says it still remains opposed to a third runway

Councillor Peter Thompson, leader of the Conservative grouping on Hounslow Council has said he is disappointed that the Council has decided not to support the Coalition Against Heathrow Expansion, but he was glad to hear that the the Labour administration remains opposed to a third runway.

A new group is being set up in Chiswick to highlight its opposition to a third runway with its first meeting next Friday ( 25th) -see below.

Cllr Thompson, who is a Chiswick councillor, had asked the Council to clarify its stance on expansion, at last Tuesday's Council meeting.

He commented: "In my supplementary question I asked why Hounslow wasn’t part of the Coalition Against Heathrow Expansion – which is supported by MPs such as Ruth Cadbury, Zac Goldsmith, Boris Johnson, John McDonnell along with Wandsworth, Hillingdon, Richmond, Kingston and Windsor and Maidenhead Councils and various pressure groups like HACAN, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and whether the Council has backed off actively opposing expansion.

"Cllr Mann, Cabinet Member for Environment, replied that because Hounslow has to work with Heathrow to mitigate the impact of the airport they had decided not to support this group."

Cllr Thompson said he personally found this stance "disappointing to say the least".

"When I lead the Council between 2006 and 2010 we spoke to Heathrow and still managed to vigorously oppose expansion – public meetings, forming the 2M group along with Hillingdon and Wandsworth, funding research, lobbying government and political parties, planting an apple orchard on the site of Heathrow's proposed third runway with Greenpeace etc etc. All this was done with the support of all political groups on the Council and was led by Barbara Reid on our side and Ruth Cadbury for the Labour Party."

Nearby Councils such as Richmond, Reading and Ealing councils have been very explicit on their stance, but Hounslow has recently said it wants a 'better not bigger airport.

The Green Party has joined forces with campaign groups at Heathrow, Gatwick and others in the South East and London to say “no new runways”

Hounslow Green Party has said it is closely following the issue due to its consequences on air pollution, noise pollution, traffic disruptions and effects on residents quality of life.
This autumn MPs are being asked to choose between expanding Heathrow (favoured by the Airports Commission) or Gatwick airports.

Campaign partners include: Hacan; Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign; Stop Heathrow Expansion; Airport Watch; CAGNE; Friends of the Earth; Greenpeace

Heathrow Airport has been rapped over the knuckles by the Advertising Standards Authority over a prominent advert it used to promote expansion of the airport   Eight complainants challenged that the ad saying it was misleading , with its claim  that  '50% of local people' were in favour of the airport's expansion and featuring the text 'those living around us are behind us' The complaints have been upheld upheld, with the ads forbidden from appearing again in their current form.

A meeting is to be held in Chiswick next Friday, 25th September with John Stewart of HACAN the anti-airport expansion campaign group. The venue is 108 Ramillies Rd W4 1JA. A 7pm start - all are welcome.

A statement from the group said: Spurred on by an apparent lack of any obvious high profile action in W4 against a third runway at Heathrow, a small group of residents have met to spearhead a campaign for W4 with the express aim of informing people who live, work and go to school in the area of the highly adverse affects of this runway by the inevitable increase of:

- noise pollution blighting every single day of the year with already interrupted & sleepless nights made far worse by the massive increase in air traffic;

- pollution of our environment by both aircraft and motor traffic (which is understood to be over EU limits already), particularly over and around where our children play, grow up and go to school, which has significantly detrimental health effects;

-additional pressures on already strained infrastructure;

- bearing part of the cost through our tax bills while witnessing the likely fall in property values for which no compensation will be paid

- in order to gather support and momentum for a strong, credible campaign against the third runway.

John Stewart of HACAN has kindly agreed to advise on the most efficient and effective ways to organise this new campaign in order to assist the W4 community that will be affected and coordinate with other groups in West London who are similarly opposed.

The group is already considering a number of options, including an online petition against the third runway and organising community members to attend the rally against the third runway in Parliament Square on Saturday, October the 10th. The group will need your support in a variety of ways ranging from social media dissemination, distributing leaflets, writing to MPs, etc.

Please watch this space and help us to prevent this clear and present danger to our communities’ wellbeing !

September 19, 2015