Press Release
15/5/14 for immediate use
Heathrow Airport has been accused of cynically underestimating the number of houses that would need to be demolished to make way for a third runway. Campaign group HACAN, which opposes expansion of the airport, has said that the detailed maps which Heathrow released yesterday (1) show that hundreds of homes on the just outside the boundary of the new runway would be uninhabitable if it went ahead. HACAN also questions whether the Grade 1 listed Harmondsworth Great Barn will, in reality, remain standing if expansion took place.
The maps show that hundreds of homes in Sipson would be within yards of the new runway (2) and that Hamondsworth Great Barn and the Grade 2 listed St Mary’s Church beside it would very close to the airport (3).
HACAN Chair John Stewart said: “We believe that Heathrow have cynically underestimated the number of homes that would need to go and are misleading people. Sipson would be uninhabitable and the Great Barn would be so close to the runway that it could serve as a canteen for the cabin crew to get a final coffee before boarding their plane.”
Heathrow Airport, when unveiling it plans on Tuesday, claimed that, because it has slightly altered the alignment of the new runway, it had cut the number of homes that would be demolished from 950 to 750. Their details plans suggest it could be many more.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
(1) http://t.co/9pY6gW5SwF
http://your.heathrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/TBF-Volume-3-72dpi-jm.pdf
http://your.heathrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/TBF-Volume-3-72dpi-jm.pdf
(2) The homes in Sipson are those just outside the red line which is the airport boundary.
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(3) The Barn is marked in green
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For further information:
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641
Jane Taylor, Chair Harmondsworth and Sipson Residents Association, 07990705470