Well over 1 million oppose 3rd runway, polls reveal

Numbers that will worry any Government

Well over a million people in London and the South East oppose a third runway at Heathrow.  And there is no sign of their opposition weakening.  Indeed, the support for Heathrow expansion has remained static over the last seven years or so.

The figures have come to light following an analysis of recent polls by the campaign group HACAN which opposes expansion of Heathrow.  HACAN looked at the Populus polls commissioned by Heathrow Airport (1).

They show that:

  • A stubborn one third of the population consistently opposes a third runway
  • Around 50% of people support expansion
  • These figures have not changed over the last seven years

A poll of more than 1,000 local residents carried out by Populus last year showed 48% in favour of a third runway while 34% oppose: http://www.populus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Heathrow-Borough-Poll-March-2014.pdf.  A 2007 Populus poll found 50% supported a 3rd runway and 30% against were against: http://www.populus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/download_pdf-170907-BAA-Heathrow-Future-Heathrow-Poll.pdf

In 2014 Populus polled seven boroughs – Hillingdon, Hounslow, Richmond, Ealing, Windsor and Maidenhead, Spelthorne and Kinsgton.  Around a third of people opposed a third runway in each borough.  That is about 480,000 in total.

HACAN chair John Stewart said, “If nearly half a million are opposed to a new runway in just seven boroughs, we can say with some certainty that over a million people across London and the South East don’t want it.  These are figures which will worry any Government thinking of giving a green light to a new runway.  In political terms, the level of support for expansion almost becomes irrelevant”

Stewart added, “What is also significant is that the figures have hardly budged over the last seven years despite the huge advertising and PR campaigns mounted by Heathrow Airport.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

 (1). HACAN has expressed reservations about the Populus polls believing there may be a bias in them towards expansion at Heathrow.

For further information:

John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650

The case of the mysterious post boxes appearing in Heathrow’s terminals

Post boxes have started to appear in the terminals Heathrow Airport urging customers to ‘help us expand Heathrow’.  They coincide with the final public consultation being held by the Airports Commission which is looking at whether a third runway should be built at Heathrow or a second one at Gatwick.  The Commission’s final report will be published after May’s General Election.  The next Government will need to decide whether to accept or reject its recommendations.

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John Stewart, chair of HACAN, which campaigns against a new runway, said “Local people alerted us to these post boxes. They are quite attractive but I suspect they are not there just to be decorative.  It seems as if Heathrow is using passengers as a weapon in its fight to get a third runway.”

Questions are being asked by campaigners whether passengers are being handed forms as they come off their planes for them to send to Heathrow or put into the post boxes.

Stewart added: “I suspect Heathrow may have miscalculated.  The Airports Commission will be more interested in solid arguments rather than in sifting through forms founds in posting boxes dotted around Heathrow’s last chance saloon.”

Neil Keveren, who chairs SHE (Stop Heathrow Expansion), said, “These post boxes illustrate the David and Goliath of this battle.  We are fighting in our spare time to stop our homes being knocked down and our communities destroyed while Heathrow Airport is not only able to spend millions but use passengers from around the globe that have little interest in communities such as ours.”

ENDS

 Notes for Editors:

For further information:

John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650

Neil Keveren on 07850904677;  www.stopheathrowexpansion.co.uk

Press release dated 7/1/15

Heathrow or Gatwick: “In the end of the day, it will come down to political deliverability”

Press Release

 11/11/14 for immediate use

 Airports Commission:  Third Runway will cost up to £4 billion more than Heathrow Airport estimates

The public consultation document issued by the Airports Commission this morning argues that a third runway at Heathrow will cost up to £4 billion more than the Airport has estimated.  A second runway at Gatwick would also be more expensive that its promoters claim but would cause far fewer noise problems than Heathrow’s third runway.  Expansion at Heathrow would do more for the national economy but a second runway at Gatwick would also deliver considerable economy benefits.

 HACAN chair John Stewart said, “Both Gatwick and Heathrow are very much in the running.  In the end of the day it will come down to political deliverability.   A new runway at either airport would boost the economy but the report underscores the fact the noise at Gatwick would affect far fewer people.  For politicians, that could be the clincher.”

On 3 December 2014 will be holding a public session near Heathrow where the consultation document will be debated.  Entry will be by ticket only. The Commission will announce shortly how to register.

The consultation ends on 3rd February.  The Airports Commission is due to deliver its final report in July next year, two months after the General Election.

ENDS

For more information:  John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 OR 07957385650

 

 

 

Heathrow Third Runway: it may be all about Boris after his selection to fight Uxbridge

Press Release

 14/9/14 for immediate use

 Campaign group HACAN has welcomed London Mayor Boris Johnson’s pledge that he will “continue to fight against a 3rd runway” if elected as the next MP for Uxbridge.  He made it clear when he was selected to fight the seat for the Conservatives on Friday that there was no chance he would change his stance on a third runway.

HACAN chair John Stewart said; “If Boris becomes the next MP for Uxbridge, it will make it much harder for any Conservative Government to build a third runway.  Boris will be put it under huge pressure from a constituency within sight of Heathrow.  His influence over Labour would obviously be less but a Labour Government could not afford to ignore him.  Boris may yet have a decisive say in where a new runway is built”.

Stewart added, “While the short-term speculation will be how Boris will square his desire for a EstuaryAirport with the wishes of his most of his Uxbridge constituency to keep Heathrow open, the longer-term impact of his selection may be more important in the airports debate.”

In Uxbridge Boris two main challengers are expected to be Labour’s Chris Summers who wants a ‘better not bigger’ Heathrow and Jack Duffin, a rising star within UKIP and chairman of their youth wing, who has made it clear that UKIP if firmly opposed to a third runway.

ENDS

 For more information:

John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650

 

Campaign group critical of Heathrow poll claiming MPs back 3rd runway

Campaign group HACAN, which opposes expansion at Heathrow, has claimed that the Mori Poll released by Heathrow Airport today is what it seems. Heathrow claims the poll shows that 60% of MPs support at third runway but HACAN argues that claim is misleading as only 143 MPs out of 650 were asked.  Of those that were polled, 84 backed 3rd runway.

Read the the full article in the Daily Telegraph: fw.to/sUZOcwE 

HACAN chair John Stewart said, “Very little can be read into this poll because the numbers questioned were so low.  84 MPs out of a total of 650 is far from a groundswell of support for a third runway.  It certainly is not evidence, as Heathrow is claiming, that expansion is becoming more politically deliverable.

ENDS

 For further information:  John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650

 

50,000 newspapers with reasons for NO 3RD runway

Today, HACAN proudly launches Third Runway News, a new publication providing residents of west London, east Berkshire and north Surrey with the facts about what an expanded Heathrow Airport would mean for them.

Read the illustrated 4 page newspaper: http://hacan.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ThirdRunwayNews-digitalversion.pdf

HACAN is a residents-led campaign and indeed this very newspaper was designed by one of our local members, not a hugely expensive professional design company.  HACAN relies on donations and membership rates to fund our activities. Unlike some other campaign organisations, we are not bankrolled by Heathrow Airport!

Whether it is noise pollution, air pollution or increased traffic, there are plenty of reasons why a third runway should never be allowed to take off. This newspaper explains why.

Find your village or town in the yellow banner running across the top of each page and spread the word around your neighbourhood today!

For much more information on our campaign and activities, email us on info@hacan.org.uk

Boris Island dropped: press statement from HACAN

1st September 2014

With the news that an official statement will be made tomorrow  (2nd September) that the Airports Commission has ruled out an Estuary Airport, HACAN, which opposes a third runway at Heathrow, made the following statement:

 HACAN chair John Stewart said: “I don’t expect that this will mean that Boris Johnson or his supporters will give up on the idea of a brand new airport.  The idea of an island airport is likely to be floating around for some time yet.  Johnson remains an implacable opponent of a third runway at Heathrow and has reservations about the value of a second runway at Gatwick.”

Stewart added: “This statement makes it clear that Davies sees it as a choice between Heathrow and Gatwick.  Whether a future Government will see it that way is another matter altogether.”

HACAN calls for Heathrow Airport to come clean on its Populus polls after the polling company’s methods are exposed

Press Release

13/8/14 for immediate use

HACAN, the campaign group opposed to expansion at Heathrow, has called on Heathrow Airport to come clean about its surveys carried out by its favourite pollster Populus following the revelations this week about the methods Populus used in a recent survey on fracking (1).  The  fracking poll published on Monday, carried out for UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG), was described by a polling expert as ‘one of the most misleading poll findings I’ve ever seen’ (2).  And today it has been revealed that the UKOOG findings have been flatly contradicted by a Government survey found which only 25% of people supported fracking compared to the Populus poll which claimed 57% support (3).

Heathrow has relied on Populus polls, conducted over the phone, to back its claims there is growing support for a third runway at the airport. Heathrow claimed, on the basis of a Populus poll, that there was more support now for a 3rd runway than when it was proposed by the last Labour Government.  The poll claimed to show 48% were in favour of a third runway while 34% opposed (3), results which were flatly contradicted by referenda and surveys carried out by Hillingdon, Richmond and Hounslow local authorities which found around 72% of residents opposed a 3rd runway (4).

In December last year Heathrow claimed “people in West London are more likely to vote for their MP if they support Heathrow expansion than if they oppose a third runway according to new research from independent polling company Populus” (5)  in contradiction to what MPs day they are hearing on the doorstep and reading in their mail.

Experts are claiming that Populus are asking questions in a way that is guaranteed to get the answers their paymasters want.

HACAN chair John Stewart said, “Heathrow need to come clean about these Populus surveys.  It looks as if their favourite pollster has been discredited.   Heathrow should now to publish not just the questions Populus are asking people but also the ‘spiel’ leading up to the questions.  Unless they can convince us all that they are not leading people to their chosen answer, their results can only be regarded as fiction rather than fact…..to be filed alongside this entertaining incident from Yes Minister http://youtu.be/G0ZZJXw4MTA .”

 ENDS

 Notes for Editors:

 (1). See HACAN  blog for more details:  http://hacan.org.uk/blog/?p=316

(2).  http://www.noiseofthecrowd.com/this-fracking-poll-finding-is-one-of-the-least-convincing-ive-ever-seen/

(3). http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/environment/article4174476.ece …

(4). http://www.populus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Heathrow-Borough-Poll-March-2014.pdf

(5). http://www.richmond.gov.uk/100000_say_no_to_heathrow_expansion

(6). http://mediacentre.heathrowairport.com/Press-releases/One-quarter-of-West-London-more-likely-to-vote-for-their-MP-if-they-back-Heathrow-expansion-77e.aspx .

For further information:  John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650

AIRCRAFT NOISE COMPLAINTS SOAR AS PASSENGERS NUMBERS REACH RECORD LEVELS AT HEATHROW DURING THE RECENT HEATWAVE

PRESS RELEASE

 for 11/8/14 for immediate use

 Heathrow’s busiest ever month together with the recent heat-wave have resulted in a record number of aircraft noise complaints received by campaign group HACAN .  Heathrow’s figures for July, just released, show that 6.97 million passengers used the airport during the month (1).

HACAN chair John Stewart said, “Open windows at night coupled with more outdoor activities has meant that more than hundreds of thousands people in West London and beyond are having to put up with what at times seems like constant aircraft noise.”

He added, “It puts into perspective Heathrow’s current consultation on compensation – www.heathrow.com/publicconsultation – if a third runway is ever built.  You simply can’t compensate people for the disturbance of planes thundering over as they sit in their gardens trying to enjoy the summer sunshine. And of course, there is increasing evidence that too much noise is as bad for your health as too much sunshine.”

Stewart said, “Just imagine how much worse the noise could be with a 3rd runway and at least 250,000 more flights each year using Heathrow”.

ENDS

Notes for editors:

(1). Heathrow records busiest month ever (6.97m pass., +0.5%), busiest day, & cargo up 7.8%. July results: http://bit.ly/1mBIhHU 

For further information:

John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650

 

Third Runway would halve respite period for tens of thousands in West London

Press Release

3/8/14 for immediate use

Third Runway would halve respite period for tens of thousands in West London

 How the flight paths will work if a third runway is built:

planes

  • Planes will land on the new runway for 12-13 hours a day
  •  Planes will land on the current northern runway for 6-7 hours a day 
  • Planes will land on the current southern runway for 12-13 hours a day

 Places like Kew or Hounslow West under the northern runway will continue to get around 8 hours of respite but this will be off-set for many because they will be able to hear aircraft from one of the two other runways.  For places like Richmond under the southern flight path the respite period will be cut from 8 hours to just over 4.

A similar system of respite will apply when planes land from the west

The same system will also be introduced for take-offs to allow periods of respite for communities within a few miles of the airport

 Tens of thousands of people who currently enjoy a half day’s break from the aircraft noise would see their respite period halved if a third runway went ahead at Heathrow.  Campaign group HACAN, which opposes any new runway, has revealed that many areas of West London would have planes passing overhead at a rate of one every ninety seconds for almost 13 hours a day.

The information is buried in an appendix to a report HeathrowAirport slipped out before the summer holidays (1).  It shows residents under the southern flight path, over places like Richmond, would only get just over 4 hours break from the noise each day.  Currently they enjoy an 8 hour break when the planes switch runways at 3pm.

It would be all change if a third runway were to be built.  People living under the current northern flight path would continue to get around 8 hours of respite but this would be off-set for many because they will be able to hear aircraft from one of the two other runways on either side of them.

HACAN Chair John Stewart said, “The prospect of 13 hour flying is nightmarish.  Quite simply, many communities are going to be hammered if a third runway is built.”

Stewart added, “Heathrow Airport hasn’t hidden the information but the fact that it is buried in an appendix shows how reluctant they are to spell out the implications of a new runway.”

A decision on a third runway will not be taken for at least a year.  The next Government will assess the findings of the Airports Commission, to be released in summer 2015, before deciding what to do.

ENDS

 Notes for editors:

(1). Air and Ground Noise Assessmenthttp://your.heathrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/01-Heathrow-3RNW-Air-and-Ground-Noise-Assessment.pdf  or at 01: Air and ground noise assessment

For further information:

John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650