Government Report Backs £7bn Airport Expansion Plans
Hounslow Council has reacted angrily to a new Government report backing a massive programme of airport expansion at Heathrow and across the South East.
A leading Councillor has said that the Government should rip up the report and reread the Stern Review which warned of the devastating consequences of aviation expansion for climate change.
The Eddington Review, produced by the former Chief Executive of British Airways, Sir Rod Eddington, makes recommendations on the future of transport in the UK.
The report backs Government plans for a £7bn airport expansion programme across the South East of England. This includes to expand Heathrow that could see the airport’s capacity increase by a staggering 50% over the next ten years.
This would be achieved by building a Third Runway and replacing the current system of runway alternation with mixed mode, a new system that would allow both runways to be used for take-offs and landings at the same time.
When combined with the introduction of a Third Runway, mixed mode would see the number of flights at Heathrow increase to 735,000. (ECRD Report 0308 Revised Future Aircraft Noise Exposure Estimates for UK Airports).
The council’s executive member for aviation, Cllr Barbara Reid, said, “The Government asked an airport man whether he backs expansion at Heathrow and not surprisingly he said ‘yes’. It is a meaningless report that simply repeats the aviation industry’s demands for expansion at any cost. The borough’s residents will not tolerate any more expansion at Heathrow."
It was promised at the T5 inquiry that the airports capacity would be capped at 480,000 flights a year. Allowing Heathrow to break that promise will mean more noise and pollution for local people and could make a significant contribution to global warming.
Cllr. Reid added, “The Government should tear up Sir Rod’s one-sided report and re-read the recent Stern Review instead. That made it absolutely clear that allowing airports to expand at the current rate will have a devastating cost in terms of climate change.”
The next phase of expansion at Heathrow could be achieved by simply replacing runway alternation with mixed mode. Hounslow Council will launch a Say No to Mixed Mode campaign next year when the Government publishes its delayed public consultation on plans to scrap runway alternation.
December 8, 2006
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