No! to Heathrow expansion

Wandsworth Liberal Democrats have expressed fierce opposition to Heathrow expansion in their written response to the Heathrow Airport Expansion Consultation, which closed last week.

Mark Gitsham, Sue Wixley and Olly Glover, the prospective Parliamentary Candidates for Battersea, Putney and Tooting, argued in their joint submission to Heathrow that the environmental costs of Heathrow expansion and the negative impacts on local communities will far outweigh any potential economic benefits.

“The Lib Dems have been fiercely opposed to Heathrow expansion for decades and we will continue to speak out against this unworkable folly. It is by no means a done deal,” they said.

In their letter, they explained that their opposition is founded on their determination to confront the grave and growing threat of the climate emergency. “If the Government is serious about meeting the challenges of climate change, it will stop Heathrow expansion. The UK has committed to zero carbon emissions by 2050 – an obligation secured in part by Liberal Democrat cabinet ministers in the coalition government. We know from recent research that an expanded Heathrow Airport, with extra flights and more traffic, will make this emission target almost impossible to achieve.”

Gitsham, Wixley and Glover expressed concern about the impact of an additional 25,000 flights per year on the health and wellbeing of residents in affected communities and reiterated their call for a curfew between 11pm and 7am and longer respite periods during the day.

They also questioned the lack of information provided in the consultation about future planned flight paths.

“We are concerned that changes to flight paths and new flight paths will mean that many more people are likely to be afflicted by aircraft noise, including communities in parts of Wandsworth that will be overflown for the first time. Many communities are unaware that they might be affected for the first time and, without details on these future flight paths it is impossible for them to be able to respond fully to any public consultation.