Residents invite Transport Select Cttee Chair – Louise Ellman – to Heathrow Villages that she wants destroyed for runway
Local resident-led group Stop Heathrow Expansion (SHE) has issued an open invitation to Louise Ellman MP, Chair of the Commons Transport Select Committee, to visit Harmondsworth, Sipson, Longford and Harlington – the villages around Heathrow that would be destroyed or largely uninhabitable if a third runway were to be built. The invitation comes as the Committee published a report which repeats previous calls to the Government for a rapid decision on Heathrow expansion, which the committee strongly supports. The DfT agreed to respond to the report by the end of May. It said: “We are undertaking more work on environmental impacts, including air quality, noise and carbon so we can develop the best possible package of measures to mitigate the impacts on local people.”” But the Transport Committee, gung-ho for a runway regardless of the problems (and entirely omitting mention of the vast cost to the taxpayer for surface transport) said “we believe that the noise and environmental effects can be managed as part of the pre-construction phase after a decision has been made on location, as can the challenge of improving surface access and devising suitable schemes for compensation for residents in affected communities.”
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Residents invite Transport Select Committee Chair – Louise Ellman – to Heathrow Villages
4.5.2016 (SHE – Stop Heathrow Expansion)
Local resident-led group Stop Heathrow Expansion issues an open invitation to Louise Ellman MP, Chair of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee, to visit Harmondsworth, Sipson, Longford and Harlington – the villages around Heathrow that would be destroyed or largely uninhabitable if a third runway were to be built.
The invitation comes as the Transport Select Committee published a report on Wednesday which repeats previous calls to the Government for a decision on Heathrow expansion, which the committee supports. (1)
Jackie Clark-Basten, Chair of Stop Heathrow Expansion, said: “This report offers nothing new to the debate and seeks to infuriate the process further, when the Government is engaged in carrying out vital work on environmental issues. We would welcome Ms Ellman to our area and would happily show her around the villages that she is so keen to destroy. It’s about time she paid a visit after all these years.”
The Department for Transport have agreed to respond to the report by the end of this month. The Guardian reported that:
“The Department for Transport will make a formal response to the committee’s demands later this month, and a spokesman said it anticipated that additional work on environmental impacts would be concluded by the summer. He said: “The case for aviation expansion is clear – but it’s vitally important we get the decision right so that it will benefit generations to come.
“As well as progressing the package of further work announced in December, the government will continue to consider the commission’s evidence before reaching a view on its preferred scheme.
“We are undertaking more work on environmental impacts, including air quality, noise and carbon so we can develop the best possible package of measures to mitigate the impacts on local people.” “
http://www.stopheathrowexpansion.co.uk/
For more information:
Robert Barnstone 07806 947050; robert.barnstone@outlook.com
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See also
Transport Select Committee wants rapid decision on runway location – then sort out the problems later …..
The Commons Transport Select Committee, chaired by Louise Ellman (for years a strong advocate of a larger Heathrow) has published a report that wants the government to make a rapid decision on the location of a new south east runway. Ms Ellman says Patrick Mcloughlin should set out a clear timetable of the decision making process. He should also set out what research the government has already done and what remains to be done. The Committee wants a decision in order to, in its view, remove uncertainty for business so companies can be planning and investing. The report is entirely of the view that a runway is needed for links to emerging markets. It ignores the reality that most journeys are for leisure, and it ignores the huge costs to the taxpayer, of either scheme. The Committee wants a location decision, and somehow believes that all other environmental and infrastructure problems will then (magically?) be sorted out. They say: “… we believe that the noise and environmental effects can be managed as part of the pre-construction phase after a decision has been made on location, as can the challenge of improving surface access.” So decide first – with what is likely to be a bad decision – and work out how to deal with the intractable, and inevitable, problems later. Is that a sensible course of action for a responsible government?
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The Committee’s conclusions and recommendations include this:
“2. We have reviewed the findings of our predecessors in light of the Government postponing its decision on airport expansion; we have seen no new compelling evidence that would change the balance of the arguments and we endorse their conclusions and recommendations. Expansion at Heathrow offers the greatest economic benefit and would do more to improve connectivity internationally and within the UK. We recognise that local residents and environmental campaigners have raised legitimate concerns; these deserve serious consideration. We do not under-estimate the scale of the challenge but we believe that the noise and environmental effects can be managed as part of the pre-construction phase after a decision has been made on location, as can the challenge of improving surface access and devising suitable schemes for compensation for residents in affected communities. It is vital that a decision is taken. “http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmtrans/784/784.pdf