"Third Heathrow runway 'will extend noise blight to most of west"

Friday, October 4, 2002

Third Heathrow runway 'will extend noise blight to most of west
United Kingdom - The Evening Standard


AIRCRAFT noise could spread to include much of west London if Heathrow's
third runway is built, according to research. 

New areas which will suffer constant noise include Hammersmith, Ealing,
Fulham, Chelsea and Kensington. 

The Transport Department, which has proposed the third runway as part of
its consultation on expanding airport capacity in the South-East, has
refused to give an undertaking to ban night flights if the new landing
strip is built. 

At present, the worst impact of aircraft noise is felt along the Thames
over Battersea, Wandsworth, Putney, Richmond, Kew and Barnes, where some
people complain their sleep is constantly interrupted. 

The warning that so-called noise blight could now spread to include much
of west London came at a conference of councillors and MPs from across
London organised by Wandsworth council, which carried out research into
the proposals. The council warned the new runway would lead to a rapid
increase in night flights, while the consultation document does not rule
out the possibility of a sixth terminal at Heathrow, further increasing
the number of planes over London. 

People under the flightpath are already facing the possibility of the
Government succeeding in its bid to overturn a ruling that night flights
are a breach of human rights, which would mean 24-hour traffic at
Heathrow. The council also warned that regulations to enforce the use of
new quieter aircraft would have little impact - as there is no guarantee
they are less noisy as they land. 

Edward Lister, leader of Wandsworth council, claimed the Government was
being dishonest by failing to mention a sixth Heathrow terminal and not
ruling out the possibility that the short third runway in the proposals
could become full-length. 

"These omissions are significant. History shows that no sooner has the
industry got what it says it wants, then it comes back for more," he
said. 

"Ministers are colluding in this strategy of deception. They must be
hoping no one will bother to read through the massive technical
documents that have been published to support the current proposals on
airport capacity. 

"If the new runway goes ahead it will be followed rapidly by an increase
in night flights which can only get worse if the runway is subsequently
lengthened." 

Kensington and Chelsea's deputy leader Daniel Moylan said: "The council
is looking very carefully at this issue. Any proposal that involves
jumbo jets flying down the Cromwell Road every few minutes day and night
is not going to be acceptable." 

Experts leading the campaign against expansion insisted last night that
as many as 35,000 people could be living in areas where pollution would
climb to levels forbidden under EU law. Excessive noise pollution from a
new runway could affect 332,000 people, it was claimed. 

Protesters want a new airport to be built in Cliffe, Kent, and to press
their claims plan to lobby the House of Commons later this month, and
drive a bus fitted with powerful loudspeakers along the route of the new
flight path to demonstrate the expected level of noise. 

John Stewart, of the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft
Noise, told the meeting: "I feel confident that this third runway will
not be built. 

There are very few people who have come out in support of it - and only
one MP."

Dr Vincent Cable, Lib-Dem MP for Twickenham, which will be affected by
any change in flight path routes, said: "The overwhelming cross-party
consensus is that environmental problems are becoming unacceptable. The
economics don't add up because the aviation industry is so heavily
subsidised and under-taxed." 

John Randall, Tory MP for Uxbridge, said: "I have never known so much
unity on one issue. 

Politicians from all parties are fighting this, and so far nothing we
have seen indicates that we should go ahead with this."


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