Give Your Opinion On Heathrow
Council urges residents to write to the Transport Secretary
One of the proposed flight patterns being considered by Heathrow as a part of their expansion plan
With the government expected to make a long overdue decision on airport expansion in the coming weeks, Wandsworth Council leader Ravi Govindia is calling on local people to make their voices heard by writing direct to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.
The authority has been campaigning against Heathrow expansion for more than a decade and is part of a cross-party group of eleven London councils which support the rival proposal to expand Gatwick.
Heathrow expansion is expected to have a major impact on Wandsworth by creating new flight paths across parts of the borough which have never experienced aircraft noise before.
Expansion at Heathrow could cost taxpayers as much as £20bn, according to Transport for London. Councillors argue that this vast sum could draw funding away from other valuable growth projects such as Crossrail 2 or extending the Northern Line to Clapham Junction.
Leader of Wandsworth Council, Ravi Govindia, said:
“People power has a vital role to play in settling this debate so please make sure your voice is heard. It’s vital that we demonstrate the strength of feeling here in Wandsworth as ministers prepare to make a final decision on which airport to expand.
“Heathrow’s location within a densely populated part of west London makes further expansion untenable. The environmental impacts, legal barriers, taxpayer costs and political opposition are just too great to overcome.
“Gatwick expansion is a self-funding project which would cost taxpayers nothing, while allowing them to reap the rewards of growth across the South London region. The flightpaths would run across more sparsely populated areas affecting far fewer people.
“We hope that the government will seize the opportunity to expand Gatwick and accept the overwhelming case against Heathrow. In the unhappy event that ministers do opt to support a third Heathrow runway this council is ready to mount a challenge in the courts alongside our local authority partners.”
To make your voice heard, email:
• Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling MP - TransportSecretary@dft.gsi.gov.uk
• Battersea MP, Jane Ellison - jane.ellison.mp@parliament.uk
• Putney MP, Justine Greening - greeningj@parliament.uk
• Tooting MP, Rosena Allin-Khan - rosena.allinkhan.mp@parliament.uk
• Sign up to the council’s campaign at - www.wandsworth.gov.uk/heathrow
Wandsworth Council is a member of 2M Group, an all-party alliance of local authorities concerned at the environmental impact of Heathrow expansion on their communities. The group was successful in 2010 in overturning plans for a third Heathrow runway in the High Court.
September 16, 2016