Expansion of Heathrow could ‘destroy Windsor’ according to councillor

Another Heathrow runway could ‘destroy Windsor’ according to a Windsor councillor and chairman of the Royal Borough’s Aviation Forum. The comments were made at a meeting of the forum,discussing the Airports Commission’s options for a new south east runway.  The councillor said:  “If the expansion of Heathrow Airport is given the go ahead, it will destroy Windsor and the reason why people want to come here. It will affect the ability to hold state functions at Windsor Castle and the north-western option will affect Eton….It would see an increased level of noise for our residents and will affect our world heritage sights, which the commission have seemed to overlook.” The Royal Borough of Windsor are now drafting a submission to the Airports Commission. Another councillor said:  “The Airports Commission’s paper is one of the biggest things the borough has had to respond to and the implications are enormous.” Another councillor commented that the need for up to 70,800 new homes, for a 3rd runway, would created turmoil and require highly valued green belt land.
.

 

Expansion of Heathrow could ‘destroy Windsor’ according to councillor

9.1.2015
by Philip Dewey (Windsor Express)

why did they build windsor castle so close to Heathrow

 

The expansion of Heathrow Airport could ‘destroy Windsor’ according to a Windsor councillor and chairman of the Royal Borough’s Aviation Forum.

The comments were made by Cllr George Bathurst (Con, Castle Without) at a meeting of the forum last night, discussing the Airports Commission’s options for expanding airport capacity in the UK.

Two of the options open to the commission include the building of a new runway to the north west of Heathrow or the expansion of the existing northern runway, as well as a new runway at Gatwick Airport.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Bathurst said: “If the expansion of Heathrow Airport is given the go ahead, it will destroy Windsor and the reason why people want to come here. It will affect the ability to hold state functions at Windsor Castle and the north-western option will affect Eton.

“It would see an increased level of noise for our residents and will affect our world heritage sights, which the commission have seemed to overlook.”

The Royal Borough are now drafting a submission to the Airports Commission before it sits down to consider the options, outlining their concerns about Heathrow and their backing of the Gatwick option.

Chris Nash, the Royal Borough’s team leader for Environment Protection, has been tasked with drafting the submission.

He said: “The Airports Commission’s paper is one of the biggest things the borough has had to respond to and the implications are enormous, so we are trying to put together a salient response.

“We will be making it very clear that the Royal Borough would not support expansion at Heathrow Airport under any circumstances.”

The deadline for the Royal Borough’s submission to the Airports Commission is Tuesday, February 3.

The Aviation Forum meeting took place at Windsor Guildhall.

http://www.windsorexpress.co.uk/News/Areas/Windsor/Expansion-of-Heathrow-could-destroy-Windsor-according-to-councillor-09012015.htm

.


.

See also

Windsor councillor says there would be homes ‘turmoil’ if Heathrow is expanded

A Windsor councillor has said that creating up to 70,800 homes if Heathrow expansion plans go ahead would cause “absolute turmoil.” He said a 3rd runway north-west of the airport could create the need to use greenbelt land for housing. However, almost unbelievably, a Heathrow spokesman said: “There will be little or no need for additional house-building over and above current local authority plans.” The Airports Commission, said Heathrow expansion would create between 47,400 and 112,400 jobs by 2030, which in turn would require an extra 29,800 to 70,800 homes to be created in the surrounding area, including Windsor, Slough and London boroughs. There will be a public meeting in Windsor to discuss the Heathrow plans, before the consultation ends on 3rd February. Windsor already has an enormous housing problem in the area, and are having go consider building on green belt land (which is locally very unpopular), even with no new runway. And there is increasing urbanisation …”The impact will be felt across the Thames Valley – it’s commercial greed gone mad.”

Click here to view full story…

 .

Wikipedia says, of Windsor castle:

Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. The castle is notable for its long association with the English and later British royal family and also for its architecture. The original castle was built in the 11th century after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I, it has been used by succeeding monarchs and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. The castle’s lavish, early 19th-century State Apartments are architecturally significant, described by art historian Hugh Roberts as “a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms widely regarded as the finest and most complete expression of later Georgian taste”.[1] The castle includes the 15th-century St George’s Chapel, considered by historian John Martin Robinson to be “one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic” design.[2] More than five hundred people live and work in Windsor Castle.

Originally designed to protect Norman dominance around the outskirts of London, and to oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames, Windsor Castle was built as a motte and bailey, with three wards surrounding a central mound. Gradually replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a prolonged siege during the First Barons’ War at the start of the 13th century. Henry III built a luxurious royal palace within the castle during the middle of the century, and Edward III went further, rebuilding the palace to produce an even grander set of buildings in what would become “the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England”.[3] Edward’s core design lasted through the Tudor period, during whichHenry VIII and Elizabeth I made increasing use of the castle as a royal court and centre for diplomatic entertainment.

Windsor Castle survived the tumultuous period of the English Civil War, when it was used as a military headquarters forParliamentary forces and a prison for Charles I. During the Restoration, Charles II rebuilt much of Windsor Castle with the help of architect Hugh May, creating a set of extravagant, Baroque interiors that are still admired. After a period of neglect during the 18th century, George III and George IV renovated and rebuilt Charles II’s palace at colossal expense, producing the current design of the State Apartments, full of Rococo, Gothic and Baroque furnishings. Victoria made minor changes to the castle, which became the centre for royal entertainment for much of her reign. Windsor Castle was used as a refuge for the royal family during the bombing campaigns of the Second World War and survived a fire in 1992. It is a popular tourist attraction, a venue for hosting state visits, and Elizabeth II‘s preferred weekend home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Castle

…… presumably all that history counts for little to Heathrow’s foreign owners, if they can just get more people to travel by air to more holiday destinations … emitting clouds of carbon……..