\u00a0<\/strong>10 reasons why we oppose it<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>The previous Government set up the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, to look at whether new runways would be needed.\u00a0 It narrowed the choice to a 2nd runway at Gatwick or a 3rd runway at Heathrow.\u00a0 In its final report, published in July 2015, it recommended 3rd<\/sup> runway at Heathrow.\u00a0 But it is not a done deal.\u00a0 The Government makes the final decision.\u00a0 An announcement is expected before Christmas.\u00a0 But that will not mean it is a done deal.\u00a0 It could face legal challenges. It will need to get planning permission.\u00a0 The last Labour Government gave permission for a 3rd<\/sup> runway but it never saw the light of day because of the weight of public opposition.\u00a0 It could happen again.<\/p>\n A 3rd<\/sup> runway would mean 250,000 extra flights a year using Heathrow<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Number of people affected: That is simply the number required for the runway itself.\u00a0 Heathrow has recognized that up to 4,000 in total might need to be bought up because the current plans leave too many people uncomfortably close to the new runway.<\/p>\n \u00a03.\u00a0 Tens of thousands would be under a flight path for the first time<\/strong><\/p>\n A new runway inevitably means a new flight path. Many people in West London, (including parts of Chiswick, Brentford and Hammersmith) as well as areas west of the airport could get planes for the first time for possibly as many as 13 hours in one day.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 A third runway is not essential for London economy<\/strong><\/p>\n More business people and tourists fly into London each year than fly to any other city in the world.\u00a0 Most have no preference which airport they use. This trend will continue whether or not a third runway is built at Heathrow.\u00a0 The Airports Commission, while favouring Heathrow, still called Gatwick a credible option.<\/p>\n Heathrow is the only major UK airport where air pollution levels remain stubbornly above EU legal limits. The pollution comes from the planes but also from the traffic on the nearby motorways.\u00a0 Despite cleaner planes and cars coming on-stream, there is real doubt whether, with a third runway and its extra 250,000 flights, the air pollution limits will be met.<\/p>\n 6. A 3rd<\/sup> runway would cause health problems<\/strong><\/p>\n There is clear evidence that the high levels of air pollution in London are causing health problems, and even early death.\u00a0 Studies also show that noise can cause stress and heart problems as well as impact on children\u2019s learning.<\/p>\n \u00a07.\u00a0 A 3rd<\/sup> runway would require expensive rail and road upgrades<\/strong><\/p>\n The M25 between junctions 14 and 15 (Heathrow to the M4) is the busiest section of motorway in UK.\u00a0 It may need to be upgraded even without a 3rd<\/sup> runway but part of the M25 would need to be put in a tunnel if a new runway is built.\u00a0 It is estimated that the road and rail upgrades could cost at least \u00a35 billion.\u00a0 Heathrow Airport will pay for any new runway but could well ask for public money to pay for the surface access improvements.<\/p>\n \u00a08.\u00a0 It would cause big climate problems<\/strong><\/p>\n A third runway in itself would not bust the Government\u2019s targets to cut CO2 emissions but it would mean that the planes using the country\u2019s other airports would need to be strictly controlled.<\/p>\n \u00a09.\u00a0 It would face massive opposition<\/strong><\/p>\n There would be opposition not just from local residents but also from environmentalists, many local authorities, politicians from all parties as well as some businesses and trade unions. When the last Government tried to build a third runway, it was defeated by this coalition.\u00a0 Huge rallies attended by thousands of local people, cross-party political activity, eye-catching direct action, all backed up by sound arguments saw of the plans for a third runway.<\/p>\n \u00a010.\u00a0 There are alternatives<\/strong><\/p>\n Other airports are being looked at where the impacts of expansion would be less but there is also scope for a switch to rail.\u00a0 Around 20% of the flights currently using Heathrow are domestic or to near-Europe.\u00a0 And, indeed, 45% of air trips within Europe are 500 kilometres or less in length.\u00a0 If trains were fast and more affordable, a number of people would switch from air to rail.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A 3rd Runway at Heathrow \u00a010 reasons why we oppose it \u00a0The previous Government set up the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, to look at whether new runways would be needed.\u00a0 It narrowed the choice to a 2nd runway at Gatwick or a 3rd runway at Heathrow.\u00a0 In its final report, published … Continue reading “Third Runway at Heathrow FAQ”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacan.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3409"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacan.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacan.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacan.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacan.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hacan.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3409\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacan.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacan.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacan.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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<\/a>2. \u00a0At least 783 homes would be demolished<\/strong><\/p>\n\n