Heathrow expansion is not the answer – Andy Slaughter MP

Why we can’t afford to keep making the same mistake with a third runway

Guest blog by Andy Slaughter MP

For those of us who have lived in west London for many years, the announcement about the planned expansion of Heathrow will bring about a sense of déjà vu. It feels like we have been here many times before because we have.

It’s an issue I have been campaigning on long since before I was an MP, and I resigned my front bench position in 2009 over a previous government’s plans for a third runway.

Both main parties have changed their minds several times on the wisdom of further Heathrow expansion. That in itself should make us wary. Big infrastructure projects often go wrong even with long-term cross-party support (look at HS2), the third runway has never had this.

READ ALSO: Heathrow submits ‘shovel-ready’ proposal for privately financed third runway within a decade

Opposition from local residents has been strong and constant, with groups such as HACAN (the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) and No 3rd Runway having been active for decades.

The plans for expansion are opposed by the Mayor of London and by west London politicians from all parties. A number of London boroughs previously worked with Greenpeace and Sadiq Khan to launch a judicial review against the decision to expand.

Renewed plans for expansion have now been submitted to the government, not only by Heathrow, but also by rival developers Aurora, in a move that has broken the precedent of exclusivity for the airport’s operator.

Image: Heathrow Airport Limited

The deadline for submission was 31 July, and we now have some details of each proposal. Aurora’s plans are less ambitious and disruptive but both proposals suffer from the same issues that have plagued previous plans.

The arguments against expansion are many, not least the significant concerns about the environmental impact. Increasing the airport’s capacity by 50% will clearly impact the UK’s ability to meet its climate change targets.

More locally, flight paths will expand and with that the number of people affected by aircraft noise and air pollution. It is well established that Heathrow is poorly sited, and close to major population centres, with two million people affected by aircraft noise.

Another significant issue is the increased congestion on local transport networks as more people begin to use Heathrow.

This includes road traffic, which will be especially impacted during construction if Heathrow goes ahead with the costly and complex works to tunnel already congested parts of the M25.

We also face increased congestion on public transport networks. While we are looking forward to the introduction of new trains on the Piccadilly line, the modernisation of the line’s signalling is currently on hold.

By the time the improvements happen they will be eaten up by the extra demands from Heathrow.

Few people believe the £49 billion price tag for a third runway would cost the taxpayer nothing. This is not just an expansion — it is building a new airport bigger than Birmingham and with more capacity than Gatwick.

In any event a bigger Heathrow looks already out of date given plans for the expansion of Gatwick, Luton and Stansted are far more advanced. These airports are not even operating at capacity while additional flights there would affect far fewer people.

No one would build Heathrow where it is starting today. We put up with it because it’s been there for so long, but it defies common sense to continue to expand it.

I agree strongly with the government on the need for new, major infrastructure projects to help boost economic growth and productivity.

And I do also agree that there are many good projects that are ready to go and have been delayed because of wrangling over planning.

But the expansion of Heathrow is not one of these projects. Not only because of the downsides mentioned above, but because it would be at least five years before any work starts and at least ten years before a plane lands on the new runway.

I know from my inbox this is an issue Hammersmith and Chiswick residents remain very concerned about and I will continue the work I have been doing over many years to resist any plans for further expansion of Heathrow.

 Andy Slaughter is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hammersmith and Chiswick.