HACAN has joined other UK noise campaigners to call on the next Government to take six simple steps which would cut noise: International Noise Awareness Day demands
They have been launched on 29th April, when International Noise Awareness Day celebrates its 20th Anniversary. A major day of action is being staged in Berlin by German air, road and rail noise campaigners: 2015_04_29_Sternfahrt
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Heathrow Airport has set up the Community Noise Forum. It consists of representatives of the Airport, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), National Air Traffic Control (NATS), British Airways, local authorities, community organizations and campaign groups. It was set up following the complaints received during the recent trials carried out by Heathrow and NATS. In particular, it was hoped it could resolve the dispute between Heathrow and the communities where the trials took place that flight paths have or have not returned to their pre-trial pattern. It is the reason why these communities and local authorities – largely to the west of the airport – are at present the main participants. Local authorities and community organizations to the east of the airport are expected to be invited to join at a later stage, though HACAN, as the overall body, is on the Forum and does represent residents in these areas.
Its first task will be to commission an independent study to look at the flight paths before the recent trials took, during the trials and post-trials. The aim is to see whether flight paths post-trial have gone back to their pre-trial routes. Many in the communities impacted – places like Ascot, Teddington, Englefield Green, Lightwater, Binfield and Bracknell, claim they have not. Heathrow Airport claims they have. The independent study will also look into whether any other changes had taken place. The steering group which will draw up the brief for the study and which will oversee it will be drawn entirely from community representatives of the areas where the trials took place. Heathrow has offered technical assistance and will pay for the study. The steering group will meet soon. It will report back to the Community Noise Forum.
NATS explained to the Forum the change they made to some flight paths in June 2014 without telling anybody. It transpires that what happened was that, when easterly winds were blowing, around 20 aircraft a day departing on the Compton Route were moved north and concentrated over a 7 mile band covering places like Ascot, Bracknell and Binfield. Previously they had been spread across a 13 mile band which included areas to the south of these places. It is not regarded as a major change and won’t be reversed.
There is a separate Noise Forum, on which HACAN also has a place along with a local authority representative and representatives from the industry, which doesn’t look at area-specific work but concentrates on more generic issues such as respite.
Back Heathrow claim 80,000 supporters. Read this letter sent to HACAN and you’ll question their figures immediately:
Dear HACAN,
I am sending you a mailout I received from the pro-Heathrow people, Back Heathrow, because I was so cross and felt misrepresented.
A few weeks ago they mailed everyone locally with a questionnaire, asking for our preferences with flight paths/times etc IF the expansion were to go ahead. I replied, feeling if it did go ahead at least I might have had some say in the conditions. I also wrote at the end that I was opposed to the expansion, did not think we needed the jobs in an area of high employment, that a hub for transit passengers would not benefit anyone except business and it would make the would make the quality of thousands of peoples’ lives much worse.
Imagine my astonishment to receive this mailout a couple of weeks ago, thanking me for being a supporter! This raises a real concern, I think. If they are counting everybody who responded presenting these as a measure of their support, and naturally many local people have replied in the same way I did.
You may already be aware of this, or you feel you can do nothing, but I thought it might give you some way of challenging their figures.
Yours sincerely,
name and address supplied
The ancient village of Harmondsworth, which originated as a Saxon manor and is now facing demolition if a third Heathrow runway goes ahead, will be staging an Open Day on Sunday 12th April to give the media and members of the public a chance to see what would be destroyed (1).
The focus of the event is the re-opening of the celebrated 15th-century Great Barn for the first time since the completion of major repairs by English Heritage (2). The Barn, described by poet Sir John Betjeman as “the cathedral of Middlesex”, was saved from developers by the intervention of a group of determined villagers, who will be available to talk to visitors. It will be open from 11am until 4pm.
A huge mural, especially created for the occasion, will illustrate the proposed airport boundary cutting through the heart of picturesque Harmondsworth. It will be unveiled at 1.30pm providing a photo-opportunity on the village green outside the historic Five Bells pub. This will be followed by a visit to the newly-planted trees on the Recreation Ground which demonstrates that the community intends to fight to preserve its historic roots for future generations to enjoy, rather than watch it obliterated by further expansion of the airport (3).
There will be Morris dancing at various times throughout the day (4).
SHE (Stop Heathrow Expansion) worked with the Friends of the Great Barn to organise the Open Day. Neil Keveren, the chair of SHE, said, “This is a great opportunity to see the unique village of Harmondsworth. But it is also a chance for us to show to the world that we are utterly determined to fight for our homes and our community. We will not be going anywhere else.”
He added, “We are thankful for the backing we have received from Hillingdon Council and from Harts, the community arts project”.
The Airports Commission has been examining potential sites for new runways in the South East and is expected to publish its final report in June. It will recommend either a separate third runway at Heathrow, a third runway at Heathrow added to the existing northern runway (5) or a second runway at Gatwick. The next Government will consider the recommendation but is not required to endorse it.
ENDS
Notes for editors:
(1). Flyer: 12th Apr flyer complete v5
(2). The Barn is a Grade I listed building. It is essentially unaltered since it was built in 1426 and over 95% of its structural timbers are original. It is owned by English Heritage who bought it in 2011 to add to the National Heritage Collection, and is managed for them by the Friends of the Great Barn. For more details see: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/harmondsworth-barn/
(3) The tree-planting is part of a council-backed project to re-forest the villages threatened by a third runway. It is a collaborative project between SHE, Transition Heathrow and Harts, the arts network based in the villages: http://www.communityharts.org/
(4). Datchet Border Morris will be at the Great Barn at 12.00pm; outside the Crown pub at 12.45pm; outside the Five Bells pub at 14.00; and back to the Barn at 14.30pm.
(5). This runway would not require the destruction of Harmondsworth. It would mean the demolition of properties in Poyle, west of the airport.
For further information:
Neil Keveren, 07850904677
Christine Taylor 0208 564 8345; 07960490831
Justine Bayley (for info on the Barn), 020 8759 1874
So where do the parties stand?
Let’s start with the Greens because they are probably the simplest. They are opposed to any new runways and favour removal of the tax-breaks aviation enjoys in order to curb demand. They estimate it would bring in £16 billion a year to the Exchequer.
UKIP favours reopening Manston to turn its huge former RAF runway into an international airport, with much improved links to London. Manifesto: “The final report of the Davies Commission into airport capacity and connectivity in the UK will be published later this year. UKIP will consider its recommendations and then take a position on the basis of what we genuinely believe to be in the long-term best interests of the country. However, we firmly believe that part of the solution to address the lack of airport capacity in the South East is to re-open Manston Airport. Manston is ideally placed to take low-cost airlines and freight-only aircraft; it is close to the railway network; enjoys good connections to Ashford International; will release additional capacity in the region; and take pressure off other airports.
The Liberal Democrats manifesto says: “Ensure our airport infrastructure meets the needs of a modern and open economy, without allowing emissions from aviation to undermine our goal of a zero-carbon Britain by 2050. We will carefully consider the conclusions of the Davies Review into runway capacity and develop a strategic airports policy for the whole of the UK in the light of those recommendations and advice from the Committee on Climate Change. We remain opposed to any expansion of Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick and any new airport in the Thames Estuary, because of local issues of air and noise pollution. We will ensure no net increase in runways across the UK.”
Labour has said it will make a “swift” decision after it has seen the Davies Report but will not necessarily endorse Davies. Some key Labour figures like Ed Balls support a third runway at Heathrow. As does UNITE, the union which sponsors many Labour candidates and backs the party with money. The key may be Ed Miliband himself. He has been a strong opponent of a third runway at Heathrow – has he changed his mind? Will he be strong enough to stand up to Balls and co?
The Conservative position is similar to the Labour one, except they have not talked about necessarily taking a swift decision about runways. Their manifesto simply says: “We will respond to the Airport Commission’s final report. Does the lack of a commitment to a “swift” decision mean they may revisit the idea of an Estuary Airport or an expanded Stansted? Conservative ‘big beasts’ appear divided over Heathrow and Gatwick. The Chancellor is thought to back Heathrow, but a number of cabinet ministers oppose a third runway, including Philip Hammond, Theresa May, Justine Greening and Theresa Villiers. As does the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who is likely to become the MP for Uxbridge. There are signals from the Mayor’s office and from MPs like Justine Greening that they would like to see Stansted/Estuary brought back into the equation as they are looking for a four runway airport at some stage in the future.
The SNP are most interested in the key Scottish airports having good links to the rest of the world. This includes better links to London. They feel Gatwick is on the wrong side of London for them and are likely to back Heathrow, but only if it included the best possible deal for residents as they are very aware that no residents in England voted for them to agree to knock down their homes or impose new flight paths.
Protests against a proposed new airport outside Mexico City have been met with police brutality: Atenco
Heathrow Airport furious NATS didn’t tell them about critical flight path changes
Heathrow Airport has issued a strong statement this afternoon explaining that they had not been informed by NATS (National Air Traffic Control) about critical changes to flight paths that took place west of the airport in June 2014. Residents in the affected areas – Ascot, Binfield, Virginia Water and Bracknell – have consistently complained about the increase in flights over their areas. Heathrow Airport admitted that trials had taken later in 2014 but argued that now that the trials have finished, things have returned to normal.
It now appears that Heathrow had not been told about the 2014 change which is still in place. It means that planes are flying in more concentrated flight paths over the affected areas.
In a strong statement Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “I am very concerned that NATS made this change without informing the airport or affected communities about its potential impact, particularly given its effects on some of the same areas to the west of the airport that were affected by the airspace trials we ran last year. Because of the assurances we received, we in turn told residents in good faith that no changes had occurred. That is unacceptable and I unequivocally apologise to local residents. At my request, the Chief Executive of NATS has agreed to urgently review his company’s processes to ensure that NATS shares this information with the airport to prevent this happening again in the future.”
Heathrow has asked NATS to revert to the pre-2014 flight paths but, so far, NATS has not done so.
John Stewart, chair of the campaign group HACAN, which campaigns on behalf of residents, said, “This should be a wake up call for NATS. In future, they need to be crystal clear with both the airport and with local communities about what they are doing.”
Stewart added, “We stand shoulder to shoulder with Heathrow in saying NATS now need to revert to the pre-2014 flight paths. Residents have suffered for too long.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
(1). Heathrow Airport’s statement: COMPTON FINAL STATEMENT 17 March 14
For further information:
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650
On Saturday 7th March over 30 polar bears invaded Heathrow’s recently opened Terminal Two in a protest against the third runway.
The bears hung banners, played in the terminal and danced to sound systems. The action, which started on the dot of 11am, lasted about 30 minutes. No arrests were made as the protesters left of their own accord.
Check out video: https://vimeo.com/hyperoculus/timetoact …
The direct action network Plane Stupid is thought to have been behind the protest which was timed to coincide with the big climate change march that took place in London yesterday.
Rob Gray from Plane Stupid said, “If the Government is serious about tackling climate change, it should not even be thinking about a third runway at Heathrow.”
John Stewart, chair of HACAN, the anti-third runway campaign group, which was alerted to the protest, said, “Plane Stupid played a famous role in defeating the third runway last time round. This action is a warning that the direct action protesters will be out in force again if a new runway is given the green light.”
ENDS
For more information:
John Stewart on 07957385650
Government figures released yesterday show that air pollution around Heathrow will still exceed the EU air pollution limits by 2030, even without the addition of a third runway. The figures, published by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) following a Freedom of Information request by campaign group Clean Air in London, reveal pollution limits on the A4 road running along the north border of Heathrow Airport will be over the legal limits in 2030.
The legal limits were introduced by the European Union in 2010. They continue to be breeched by member states, including the UK. However, the EU does expect limits to be met by 2020 or member states will be fined.
Heathrow is the only airport in the UK where the air pollution limits are regularly breeched. The combination of traffic on the surrounding roads, including the M4 and the M25, and aircraft using the airport, accounts for the problem. A third runway would increase flight numbers by a quarter of a million each year.
John Stewart, chair of the campaign group HACAN which opposes a new runway, said, “These dramatic figures suggest once again that air pollution could be a show-stopper as far as a third runway in concerned.”
The Airports Commission, which is looking at whether a new runway should be built at Heathrow or Gatwick, will do further work on air pollution before it publishes its final report, expected in June.
ENDS
For further information:
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650
A major rally against the 3rd Runway with top speakers will be held on March 3rd, 7pm, Church House Conference Centre, Westminster SW1P 3NZ. A chance, just 2 months before the General Election, to show the next Government how strong the opposition is to a 3rd runway.
Rally against the 3rd Runway update
