Londoners slam the Government’s decision to approve Heathrow third runway

London citizens protest while Heathrow airport is set to be expanded after 25 years of hesitation and indecision, as the Government gives the green light for the construction of a new runaway that will cost over £17billion.

Heathrow Airport in London @ Pinterest @ Londonist.com

The British Government announced on Tuesday the 25^th of October that it is launching the construction of a third runaway and sixth terminal at the Heathrow Airport in West London. This is one of the most costly plans the new Government has made, in an attempt to strengthen the trade bonds with other countries, after the UK voted to leave the EU. The controversial decision was welcomed by the business community, but was also strongly criticized by members of the Cabinet, environmental organisations and local citizens, who are planning to take legal action to overturn the Government’s plans.

Protests and backlash from the public prevented the implementation of such a decision for Heathrow six years ago, and this time again residents have expressed their concerns about the expansion and the negative effects this could have on the environment and on their local communities.

Eimear O’Rourke, a 22-year-old student from Dublin, took part in a protest in November along with a group of other activists, against the construction of the third runaway. “I do not think people fully understand the negative impact that this runaway will have on our environmental health. The air pollution levels will rise tremendously in the whole of West London. Plus in order to build the runaway, many London boroughs and councils have already started making serious cuts in local services.”

Several campaigns have taken place around the UK with the most recent one being the obstruction of the M4 and A4 roads in London, which caused a temporary blackout and disrupted the traffic.

“Authorities stopped our protests near Heathrow, but will not be silenced and we will continue to fight for our rights and prevent the destruction of our communities and our lives” Mss O’Rourke added.

A third runway is likely to affect thousands of people in areas such as Surrey, Berkshire and West London because of loud flight path noise.

Abbey Hewitt, 41, of Staunton Road in Slough claims that she has already complained numerous times to her local authorities and to Heathrow airport for the noise coming from airplanes taking off and landing.

“The noise coming from airplanes is so disturbing and you can hear it literally every five minutes. I constantly have a headache and my children who are still at school struggle to study and concentrate. I cannot imagine adding to that another runaway with hundreds more airplanes. This would also mean that we would have to move house. We have been leaving in the area for more than 15 years and I do not want to move away from my neighbourhood and lose all my friends” said Ms Hewitt.

Critics of the construction idea also include the current Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson, whose constituency is close to Heathrow, as well as the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who announced that he will be “involved in any legal process” to continue challenging the Government’s decision.

The expansion of Heathrow, which is the busiest airport in Europe, is one of the largest construction projects in the continent and it will have to win the final vote of the Parliament in about a year from now, which technically means that the new runaway will not be operational before 2025.

According to a three-year study by Britain’s Airport Commission, a new take off – landing runway at Heathrow could create over 77,000 new jobs by 2050 and lead to an increase in GDP between 0.65% to 0.75% during that same period.

Varsha Muckatira, 20, a business trainee from Station Road in Uxbridge, believes that a third runway is very much needed in Heathrow: “I fly regularly from and towards Heathrow and the air traffic around the airport is terrible. The airplanes usually fly in circles above the airport until a runway is clear for landing. Once the landing of the airplane I was in, was delayed for 45 minutes. A new runway will allow the passage of thousands additional aircrafts annually and will also mean long term prospects for employment.”

The Government considered in the past the possibility of expanding Gatwick airport, but this scenario was discarded after the Department for Transport suggested that the construction of a runway in Heathrow will boost the British economy and will ensure the creation of new jobs and new business opportunities. According to preliminary estimates, the new runway is expected to bring economic benefits of £61billion.

The decision is to be approved by the British Parliament in a final vote that will take place in 2017.