As the public consultation closes, bosses at Heathrow finally admit that the proposed third runway at the airport is ‘divisive’ as residents around the airport make their feelings known! As Heathrow prepares to submit detailed proposals for a new runway to the Airports Commission in May, Nigel Milton, director Public Affairs said: “Having attended some of the events, I understand that opinion is divided on whether Heathrow should be expanded or not.
With the consultation closing on Sunday 16th March and the Airports Commission due to make their final recommendation in 2015, Milton calls for people to pull together to make sure runway plans are developed in the best way possible. However, a private submission to the Airports Commission has ‘thrown the cat amongst the pigeons’, stating that a fourth runway at Heathrow would significantly reduce the number of flights in the South East.
Nats, the air traffic control service, has calculated “conflicting arrival and departure flows” and a fourth runway in West London would reduce combined capacity of airports in the South East including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, London City, Stansted, Southend and Birmingham, by as much as 9%! The report, without doubt, undermines the case for doubling the size of Heathrow. Opponents to the expansion believe that the third runway would be a “Trojan Horse” and lead the way to another runway and even higher levels of noise pollution.
At the moment, the Airports Commission has shortlisted two options for a third runway at Heathrow, and an option for a second runway at Gatwick. However, they have excluded a fourth runway at Heathrow, despite the fact that the airport’s blueprint includes two new runways!
There is no doubt that until the Airports Commission has made their final recommendations in 2015, arguments for and against expansion at Heathrow, and Gatwick, are going to rumble on for a while; and we also expect them to continue after the decision!