Heathrow 3rd Runway - Royal Borough Statement

The 2M Group of local authorities – of which the Royal Borough is a founder member – was responding to a recommendation from the Transport Select Committee in a report published this week on the use of airspace.

MPs want the Government to set targets for cutting stacking and making the air traffic management system at Heathrow more resilient.

But Cllr David Burbage, leader of the council and the Royal Borough's representative on the 2M group, said: “Experience shows us that every time Heathrow gets extra capacity this is quickly filled up. None of the expansion at the airport has ever been used to improve noise conditions for people under the flightpaths.

“The cost-benefit case made by the Department for Transport for a third runway depended on it being used for extra flights, not reducing congestion in the sky.

“The history of Heathrow is a long saga of broken promises. Most people concerned about the environmental impact of expansion would be very wary of entering into some form of deal with the Department for Transport and the aviation industry.

“The way to improve resilience at the airport is to reduce the number of short haul flights by investing in a national high speed rail network. If a line was built to Scotland this could mean around 100 flights a day could be switched to rail.

“We recognise that stacking and flightpath congestion mean more noise for many people in and around London and burn fuel, but so would more planes. The amount of carbon emissions produced by stacking is less than one per cent of that generated by a third runway. You can’t mitigate one environmental problem by creating another that is 100 times bigger.”

Government estimates show emissions from stacking as 50,000 tonnes annually.  Heathrow emissions in 2030 with a third runway would be 23.6 million tonnes – 6.2 million tonnes above 2005 levels.

The 2M Group is an all-party alliance of local authorities concerned at the environmental impact of Heathrow expansion on their communities.

The full membership comprises the London Boroughs of Brent, Camden, Ealing, Greenwich, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Sutton, Southwark and Wandsworth, the boroughs of Reading, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wycombe and South Bucks District Council

Find out more at www.2Mgroup.org.uk

For details of the Transport Select Committee report visit www.parliament.uk/transcom