Justine Greening MP Writes To Residents
Including a Heathrow reminder, crime meeting update and of course Brexit
Dear Resident,
I hope lots of residents have had the chance to have a bit of a break this month. I was away for a couple of weeks on a family holiday but there’s always a lot to work on locally and nationally, so I find that August is pretty much the same as any other month. I responded to over 1000 letters and emails, even this month, and I’ve been kept busy, not least with making sure our community knows that the deadline for responding to the latest Heathrow consultation is 13 September. A big thanks to all the residents who’ve been helping me get the details out to people locally.
Of course, in the past week, we’ve seen the Government announce its intention to prorogue, ie shut, Parliament for a further 5 weeks after it returns in September. I’m deeply concerned about this - Parliament is there for communities to have a voice through their representative. There’s a longer update on Brexit and prorogation below, but I’ll be doing what I can to make sure Parliament stays open to debate and decide the issues that matter to us all. Parliament is where every community can be heard so we can’t let that voice be closed down
Heathrow Consultation - DEADLINE: 13 September
I've had an absolutely fantastic response from residents offering to help deliver Heathrow leaflets across the community and we got out over 15,000 letters. Thank you to all the deliverers and it goes to show what an important issue this is for our area.
I wanted to remind you of the latest consultation from Heathrow Airport seeking views on its proposed expansion plans. You can find it at aec.heathrowconsultation.com.
The deadline for responses is 11.55pm on 13 September.
I've also written to the new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to ask him to review the project in its entirety, particularly because of the environmental, pollution and cost implications. As he has also previously campaigned against Heathrow expansion I hope he will agree at the very least that this damaging project can be reviewed.
These plans will undoubtedly increase aircraft noise experienced across Putney, but will mean that new communities in Southfields, West Hill and Roehampton are also likely to be affected. Additionally, we will have far less respite from aircraft noise than the 8 hours we currently get, possibly as little as 4 hours.
The project will be polluting, disruptive, hugely expensive and increase traffic congestion on the M4 and M25. It will also harm connectivity and growth at regional airports like Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle so it’s bad for other communities, not just our own.
Heathrow has made new promises on noise, pollution and transport links but when it got permission for a fifth terminal, there were assurances and planning conditions that there would be no third runway and a cap on flights of 480,000 a year. They are now being breached so it is difficult to trust any of their promises.
We’ve had countless consultations on Heathrow. However, it is crucial for local people to respond as it helps back up the points I am making in Parliament and to Heathrow Airport directly. We have succeeded in the past by standing our ground and speaking with one voice. Heathrow’s case has always fallen apart once we get into the details because they prove how damaging the proposals are and that the figures don’t add up. Wandsworth Council is working with other councils to bring a legal case against Heathrow expansion which a strong local response will also support.
Even a short message in your own words to Heathrow saying you oppose expansion will make a difference. You can provide your feedback using the form on the website, email at feedback@heathrowconsultation.com or write to Freepost LHR AIRPORT EXPANSION CONSULTATION. Make sure you copy me in as your local MP as well as the No Third Runway Coalition on consultation@no3rdrunwaycoalition.co.uk. That way we can ensure Heathrow is honest about the feedback it has had and we can hold it to account.
Below are some points you may wish to include in your response.
Key Consultation Points:
Noise
Expansion will increase flight numbers to 756,000 flights, an increase of over 280,000 each year. No detail on exactly where flight paths will be but it is likely that some communities like Southfields and Roehampton will be overflown where they aren’t at the moment. Also, it is likely that important areas of recreation and nature including Wimbledon and Putney Commons will be newly affected in the way that Richmond Park is at the moment. Respite hours down from 8 to just 4 hours daily.
25,000 additional flights proposed every year on existing two runways before the third runway is built.
Night flights
Proposed night flight ban between 23.00 and 05.30 could be introduced without expansion plans
Health
Expansion will affect people’s physical health and mental well-being, especially for children, the elderly and those with long-term illnesses. How does an increase in flights, with the resulting noise and impact on sleep, square with government advice that we should have 7 hours sleep a night?
Safety
More flights mean more risk to those communities living under the flight paths in one of the most densely populated areas of the country
Recent incidents involving drones and where bodies have dropped from planes approaching Heathrow underline the public safety risks from a serious incident.
Climate Change
TheHeathrow expansion proposal (without mitigation) scenario results in a huge 38% increase in Heathrow’s carbon emissions, over period 2022-2050. Expansion would mean 6.57 metric tons of extra carbon emitted every year. Heathrow claim much of this will be offset by airlines but provides no calculations or binding proposals of how a lower level could be achieved while increasing flight numbers. The project fails to reflect the recent legislation passed in Parliament to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Air pollution
Additional flights and road traffic that will use expanded Heathrow are likely to increase levels of pollutants in the air
Transport
Diversions of M25, A4 and A3044 including changes to junctions, roundabouts and new link roads will cause massive disruption to a key part of the strategic road network.Proposal sees an increase in total number of car parking spaces by over 3000. Plans for an expansion of coach and bus hub, including new routes, but no financial commitment to help delivery. Heathrow claims that doubling of freight will not double number of vehicles on road.
Putney High Street
I’ve been pressing Ministers for more investment to help support our local high streets, in particular in relation to Putney High Street, and, subsequently, the Future High Streets fund has been launched by the Department for Communities and Local Government. I met with Ministers and Wandsworth Borough Council (including Cabinet Member, Cllr Jonathan Cook, above) to ensure that any bid for Putney High Street could best compete for the additional investment that our High Street needs.
The good news is that last week Ministers announced that Putney High Street's bid to get part of an overall £1bn Future High Streets Fund investment has been successful. I'll continue to work with the Council, the Putney Business Improvement District and the Department for Communities and Local Government, to help them develop the best plan possible to maximise the impact of every pound invested through the Future High Streets Fund. In terms of what sort of improvements it might support, I'm hoping part of the funding can be used to improve the traffic flow along the High Street to combat air pollution and improve the high street for pedestrians. There’s also potential for wider environmental and transport improvements and I’m keen that the Putney Business Improvement District is fully involved with the Council as they develop more detailed plans.
Save the Telegraph Pub
As many of you will know, last Christmas the much loved Telegraph Pub on Putney Heath was closed suddenly and without any notice. It was a fantastic local pub used by nearby residents of Wildcroft Manor and Portsmouth Road and many of us have enjoyed its Sunday roasts after a walk on the commons. It’s also been a vital meeting point for our community with the space it provided inside for community group meetings.
It has now been listed for sale by the freeholder for £5 million and many residents have been in touch with me, concerned that this fantastic local establishment will be torn down and replaced with new housing, given its Putney Heath location.
One way we can save and protect the Telegraph Pub is to get Wandsworth Council to list it as an Asset of Community Value. I’ve already spoken with Council Leader, Councillor Ravi Govindia, about this and the first step is to show there is community support for doing so. I’m asking residents to help me petition Wandsworth Borough Council to get the pub listed as an Asset of Community Value. This will mean that the freeholder can’t just sell the building off for housing without offering the pub for sale to the community first. I think it will also help make clear that residents want to see it reopened as a pub.
The more people who support our campaign, the better. If you would like to sign up to my campaign and get involved to save The Telegraph Pub, all you need to do is sign my petition here to say you’d like to see the pub listed as an Asset of Community Value.
Police Crime Update and Funding
Earlier this month, I met with the local Putney, Roehampton and Southfields police teams to discuss issues along Putney High Street and across our community. We also touched on police resourcing, including how many extra officers in Wandsworth might be bid for as part of a wider Met Police bid from the 21,000 extra police officers now promised nationally.
I've also written to the new Policing Minister, Kit Malthouse, to ask for Wandsworth police resources to be reviewed in advance of the completion of the Nine Elms Development. It will be a major event venue, along with shopping, restaurants, a huge amount of new residential homes and the new US and Dutch embassy over the road from Battersea Power Station. However, Wandsworth police as a whole will still have essentially the same police resources, in spite of having to police a borough with a significant additional community now part of it. Given how much crime occurs in town centres, it is vital that our police allocation in Wandsworth is reviewed in line with the growing population and the new communities that will be part of it.
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2019 Loan Charge - Review requested
A number of constituents have contacted me having been affected by the 2019 Loan Charge approach from HMRC. Many MPs have been concerned about this issue of HMRC claiming back taxes, with lots of people caught up in it. HMRC's implementation of the loan charge has not been a proportionate response, given how unclear its own rules were for years. It has done far too little to go after the companies who sold these schemes rather than the individuals who now face having to pay additional taxes backdated up to 20 years. I have long been pressing the Treasury to face up to these issues and, with other MPs, have now asked the Prime Minister to review this policy, especially in light of the clear administration errors by HMRC over a number of years and the poor administration since the Loan Charge was announced in agreeing payment plans and settlement of monies owed from individuals.
Brexit Update
Many residents have been in touch with me concerned about the Government’s proposal earlier this week to prorogue - ie, shut - Parliament for 5 weeks from 9 September to 14 October. There would normally be a conference recess of three weeks but adding an extra week either side will mean that, since late July, Parliament has been shut for nearly three months. I think that is wholly unacceptable at any time, but especially at a time of national crisis as the Brexit deadline looms. My view is that Parliament should have been recalled and conference recess should be cancelled so that Parliament can sit to debate and find a way forward for Britain on Brexit.
In addition, shutting down Parliament means we cannot hold the Government to account as normal on any other issue, let alone find a consensus on resolving Brexit. With disruptive South Western Railway strikes, Heathrow expansion, environmental issues like air pollution, crime, housing concerns and a whole host of other important, day to day issues to represent our community on, Parliament should be open. It’s where your voice is heard and it should not be silenced. Even if you want to see Brexit happen, including a No Deal Brexit, this is totally the wrong way to go about delivering that. We are a Parliamentary democracy and, however much under strain that may be, we cannot just have Governments able to close Parliament when they don’t agree with what they want to do. It’s about Brexit this time, but what might it be the next time, under another Government?
I also share the concerns many constituents have that prorogation is an attempt to run down the clock to allow a No Deal Brexit. I voted against Theresa May’s hugely unpopular deal which I felt was the worst of all worlds and I know many Leave voters who were in touch with me just did not feel it delivered on the referendum result. Equally though, it’s clear that leaving without any deal at all was also not what was being proposed at the time of the referendum, so I do not believe there is a mandate for No Deal and will oppose that outcome in Parliament, working cross party. I’ve always respected the different views people have but we have somehow to find a resolution. As Parliament returns, I will do my best to make sure that it stays open to allow representatives to voice community issues and concerns, and I’ll continue to represent our local views on Brexit.
I hope that this update gives you a brief snapshot of some of the things I am working on as our local Member of Parliament. As ever, if you would like to contact me or raise an issue, than please get in touch and I will do the best I can to help. You can email me on justine@justinegreening.co.uk, write to me at 3 Summerstown, SW17 0BQ or call my office on 0208 946 4557. You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to see all my latest updates.
Best wishes,
September 2, 2019