Following a budget deal agreed with Green Party members of the London Assembly, the Mayor of London has agreed to fund the fight against a third runway at Heathrow. £80,000 will be spent on projects to highlight the health, noise and economic impacts of aviation expansion. The projects were developed by campaigning groups HACAN ClearSkies and NOTRAG (No Third Runway Action Group), which are leading the efforts against Heathrow expansion
The projects include:
• Research into the damage to health caused by airport noise and air pollution;
• A report illustrating how airplane noise has become a problem over wide areas of London, as flightpaths change;
• An economic analysis challenging the justifications for a new runway and demonstrating the hidden costs (such as extra noise, pollution, traffic congestion).
The research will be carried out during the course of this year.
Darren Johnson, Green Party member of the London Assembly, commented:
“A third runway at Heathrow would have devastating impacts in terms of noise, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. We are delighted to have secured an agreement with the Mayor to fund projects that will demonstrate the case against Heathrow expansion quite clearly.”
John Stewart, chair of HACAN ClearSkies, commented:
“This money will be hugely important in our fight against airport expansion at Heathrow. It means we can commission serious research to challenge the arguments given for more expansion.”
Geraldine Nicholson, chair of NOTRAG, commented:
“This will mean we can concentrate our efforts and funds at the grassroots level while experts carry out the important research we need to persuade the government that expansion at Heathrow is not an option now or in the future.”
Notes for Editors
- The projects are part of a list of commitments made by the Mayor in order to gain support from the Green Party for his final budget, in response to 33 Green demands. For further information on the budget agreement, contact Ian Wingrove, Green Group Press Officer: 020 7983 4424/ 07795 616812 / Ian.Wingrove@london.gov.uk
- HACAN ClearSkies is a lobbying group which campaigns for quieter, cleaner and safer conditions for residents living under Heathrow’s flight paths. John Stewart, chair of HACAN, can be contacted on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650. Further information is available at http://www.hacan.org.uk/
- NOTRAG (No Third Runway Action Group) is an alliance of residents associations from Heathrow and the surrounding areas who oppose any further expansion of Heathrow Airport outside of its present boundaries. Further information is available at http://www.notrag.org.uk/ or 020 8759 1677.
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