Spelthorne sets out list of demands for Heathrow to protect its residents – if there was a 3rd runway
Spelthorne Council has been a backer of Heathrow expansion for some time, as has its MP, Kwasi Kwateng. Now the council has set out a list of 10 demands from Heathrow, if there is a 3rd runway, n its response to its recent consultation. These include a requirement that residents in Stanwell Moor and Stanwell join the Wider Property Offer Zone (WPOZ) and that no immigration centre is built in the borough. They want to “secure the best possible outcomes for our residents and businesses, in particular those most affected in Stanwell Moor and Stanwell.” Some of the demands are that residents will be able to either stay in the area or sell their homes to Heathrow for 125% their market value. Also that Heathrow will pay for the introduction of a Controlled Parking Zone across Stanwell and Stanwell Moor, so residents would not have to pay for a fee for their annual parking permit. The Council wants community legacy benefits so Heathrow will “fully mitigate and compensate for the disruption, loss of open space, additional traffic, air quality and noise impacts, and removal of community buildings.” They want Heathrow to build an “enhanced multi-purpose community hall” and a new leisure centre for the community. And demands on surface access, noise, air quality, Staines Moor and much else besides.
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Spelthorne makes list of demands for Heathrow airport to agree to before planned expansion
Among them is a “requirement” that no immigration centre is built in the borough as part of the airport expansion
By Matthew Lodge (Get Surrey)
16th APR 2018
A list of demands has been published by Spelthorne Borough Council in response to the proposed Heathrow expansion.
Before the airport’s consultation period ended on March 28, the council published what it describes as a “list of requirements” that it will seek assurances on.
Its report includes a list of 10 requirements they believe the airport should meet if the expansion goes ahead.
The list includes many things including a requirement that residents in Stanwell Moor and Stanwell join the Wider Property Offer Zone and that no immigration centre is built in the borough.
Councillor Ian Harvey, leader of Spelthorne Borough Council, said: “While we support Heathrow expansion in principle, Spelthorne’s primary aim must be to secure the best possible outcomes for our residents and businesses, in particular those most affected in Stanwell Moor and Stanwell.
“Residents need reassurance that Heathrow will fully meet any pledges made to minimise the impacts of whatever scheme is taken forward, and to know that they are going to be properly compensated.”
A spokesman for Heathrow said: “We welcome the feedback from Spelthorne Council on our emerging options for the future development of the airport.
“We meet regularly with the council and will continue to work constructively with them on local issues and find ways that we can help to improve the area and minimise negative impacts from our current and future operations.”
Whether the airport will agree to everything on the list remains to be seen, but in the meantime you can see it in its entirety below:
1. Expanded Wider Property Offer Zone (WPOZ)
There have been calls from residents in Stanwell Moor and Stanwell to be included in the WPOZ, which the council has now backed.
If included in the WPOZ, residents would be able to either stay in the area or sell their homes to Heathrow for 125% their market value.
The report states the council believes the WPOZ should be extended to include all of Stanwell Moor and all of Stanwell lying north of Clyde Road, Explorer Avenue and Ravensbourne Avenue.
This will be welcome news to supporters of the Sell to Heathrow campaign, which already has the support of local MP Kwasi Kwarteng.
2. Parking controls
Under the expansion proposals, there would be a significant increase in the amount of traffic movement to the south and west of the airport.
The council is asking the airport to pay for the introduction of a Controlled Parking Zone across Stanwell and Stanwell Moor.
This would mean residents would not have to pay for a fee for their annual parking permit.
There have been problems with taxis parking in the villages while waiting to pick up passengers from the airport, something the report says “has caused antisocial behaviour” and stopped residents being able to park in their homes.
3. Community legacy benefits
The council believes that residents in Stanwell Moor and Stanwell should be compensated for the impact expansion will have on their lives.
It says it expects Heathrow to “fully mitigate and compensate for the disruption, loss of open space, additional traffic, air quality and noise impacts, and removal of community buildings.”
The council wants the airport to build an “enhanced multi-purpose community hall” for Stanwell Moor and Stanwell Village, while at the same time building a new leisure centre for the community.
Among other things, the council says the airport should provide perimeter paths for buggy walks, disabled cycling, safe cycling for young children and beginners jogging.
It says that all this and more should be put in place before the expansion goes ahead as a mark of the airport’s commitment to the community.
4. No Immigration Removal Centres
It is proposed in the plans that a site near Stanwell Moor could become the new home of the relocated Immigration Removal Centre.
This has caused much concern among local residents, who are concerned about the affect it would have on the area.
The council has come out strongly against this, stating “this is a totally unacceptable use of the site” and that they “object in the strongest possible terms to its relocation here”.
It has also asked about whether the “host” council of the centre would face obligations rehousing those who have left the centre.
5. Surface access/public transport
The council, much like the Commons Transport Select Committee, has expressed concerns about whether the current surface access proposals are suitable for the increased traffic flow to the airport.
In the report it asks for Heathrow to commit to funding public transport from Stanwell Moor and Stanwell to the airport, and support the borough in its quest to join Zone 6 of the London Transport Oyster Card operating zone.
It also asks that the airport backs a proposal that would see a light railway built that could take people to the airport from Staines town centre.
6. Air Quality
The effect the expansion would have on air quality in the communities surrounding the airport has caused a lot of concern to many people.
The council says that even if air quality falls within legal limits, assessments will still need to consider the health effects on the local population.
The airport is asked to commit to “continuous improvement in local air quality and at the very worst air quality should be no worse for our residents than it is now”.
7. Noise
The council acknowledges the large impact noise from the airport has on residents who live near the airport.
The report states it is expected that noise levels are kept below 51 decibels by the implementation of an “ongoing and challenging programme of continuous improvement to reduce the noise footprint of Heathrow”.
The council also says it would “strongly resist” any intention to increase runway capacity after the third runway is completed if it can’t be proven “such a proposal would cause ‘no worsening of the noise environment’ or ‘no reduction in the respite period'”.
It says there must be a continuous noise monitoring system in place to make sure noise problems do not develop over time as technology changes and if it does, it is identified as the earliest opportunity.
8. Night flights banned
Spelthorne Borough Council says there should be strict penalties for any breaches of this ban and that any money recouped from this must be put back into the communities affected.
It is also concerned by the timings of the night ban suggested by Heathrow, saying it is “clearly commercially driven”.
The council wants to see planes gain as much altitude as quickly as possible, and the removal of the “stacking” arrangements that prevents this from happening at the moment.
9. Borough Boundary
The council would like it to be made absolutely clear that Heathrow will not push for boundary change in the local authority.
A boundary change could mean the airport falls out of the jurisdiction of Spelthorne Borough Council and into another.
Any other local authority would “have no interest in protecting and supporting our communities”, the council says.
The borough council also wants to receive a “significantly increased proportion of the business rates generated by the wider expanded airport” as restitution for the impacts it will bring.
10. Staines Moor
Among the proposals for the expansion, there are plans that could involve disturbing Staines Moor, which is a designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The council, concerned about the effect expansion could have on this area which has “huge floral and invertebrate diversity”.
It believes it is “essential” that if the River Colne, which flows through the area, has to be diverted, it must be done in a way that keeps the flow and character of the river “unaltered” on the moor.
https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/spelthorne-makes-list-demands-heathrow-14443805
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and there are more links to other local stories relating to Heathrow at the link above ….
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See earlier:
Spelthorne Council Leader admits Heathrow expansion ‘not an easy issue’ while continuing support for 3rd runway, not in his constituency
Support for the expansion of Heathrow has been reaffirmed by Spelthorne Borough Council. The decision to maintain its stance, held since 2008, when the authority withdrew from the 2M group of councils including Richmond, Hounslow and Hillingdon who opposed Heathrow expansion, was made at an extraordinary council meeting on January 16th. The meeting was called following the publication of the Airports Commission interim report on 17th December, short-listing 2 runway options at Heathrow. for an extended northern runway and the airport’s own plan of demolishing medieval villages to the north to build a third runway. Heathrow’s own proposal is for a runway to the north-west, which does not affect Spelthorne (to the south) very much. It would mean demolition of Harmodsworth, or making it near impossible to live in. Spelthorne Council leader Robert Watts said: “Expanding airports is challenging. …. This is not an easy issue.” Spelthorne has always supported Heathrow expansion. In 2012 their own MP even advocated demolishing part of his borough, to build a runway – till he realised it was not a local vote-winner.
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