Katie Polglase reviews the public consultation on the proposed third runway


Early morning visitors at the consultation

A consultation to discuss the expansion of Heathrow was held at Putney Leisure Centre on Friday 24th February. The event was set up by the Department of Transport and was part of a series of meetings held across South West London in February and March to address residents’ concerns about the proposed expansion of the airport.

The proposal is to turn Heathrow into a three-runway 'hub' airport and would involve adding more flights to the existing flight paths, while also creating new routes over areas of South West London that were previously unaffected.

Wandsworth Council, who organised the Putney meeting, are known for their opposition to the expansion. They sent out a leaflet to residents ahead of the consultation with the headline: “Heathrow Expansion: What does it really mean for you?” Putney would see an increase in noise, air pollution, traffic and night flights, it claimed. Not to mention the destruction of homes and the detrimental health impacts. For those attending the consultation, this leaflet provided a healthy antidote to the Government’s arguments in support of expansion.



Council leader Ravi Govindia told this website: “The consultation event was more like a marketing exercise than a serious attempt to listen to local views. The DfT withheld the location of new flightpaths and buried other key information Wandsworth residents care about like the loss of noise respite periods and increasing pollution. If you want to know how Heathrow expansion could affect your home then please visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/aviation.”

However, this did assume residents were aware of the consultation. The event lasted from 11am until 8pm and so the attendance fluctuated with a surge during the after-work hours. Despite one resident’s claim that the event was “well advertised,” many other residents and local business owners told this website that they had no idea it took place. Several local businesses on the Upper Richmond Road, including the Ginger Florist, were particularly concerned about rising noise levels and worsening air quality. They insisted they would have attended, had they known. Nevertheless, the turn out was reasonable with roughly 20-30 people there at any given time.

Local MP Justine Greening spent over two hours talking to DfT staff and residents, she told PutneySW15: “I visited the public exhibition on Heathrow with local councillors and spent a couple of hours talking to local residents and DfT officials about the proposals. I share residents’ concerns that a third runway will increase aircraft noise, pollution and congestion and its impact on our quality of life. It is very important that residents have their say on both consultations, on the draft Airports National Policy Statement and on UK airspace policy, to ensure that our community’s voice is heard. I will also be submitting my views to reflect residents’ concerns.”

Those that attended found six large whiteboards of information with a board for each theme. The economy, the environment, noise insulation, transport, air space, and the overall purpose of expanding the airport. These boards were filled with graphics, statistics and bold statements about Heathrow’s role in the UK. There were conflicting views on the benefit of these boards; one resident told this website that the information was far too complicated and confusing, while another complained that the information was too “vague.” The latter criticism perhaps indicated that many residents were already well versed in the debate surrounding Heathrow. However a uniting theme among attendees was the lack of information that was directly relevant to Putney residents. Several talked about how the boards showed information that affected the UK as whole, such as the benefit to the economy, but did not address concerns of locals. As one resident said, “it didn’t focus on what it meant for the residents of Putney.”

Issues that were most pertinent to locals included the flight paths, noise levels and air quality. The answers to many of these queries were disappointingly vague or unclear. The flight routes could not be confirmed despite the significant impact it would have on areas that may experience heavier traffic and quiet areas that may receive traffic for the first time. Noise levels were also a contentious issue. According to the graphics provided by the Department of Transport, the flight path over the Upper Richmond Road did not count as noisy because the air traffic was not consistently over 55 decibels. This flight path has variation due to a night-time respite and the averaged figure is therefore lower than at any given time during the day. Homes in this area would not classify for noise insulation as a result. For residents near this flight path, to hear that their area was not considered noisy was a great frustration. As one resident put it, “clearly to say we have no noise here is just not the case.”

Map showing indicative flights paths proposed by the Government

For some, the most worrying news was the suggested change to the night respite: the gap in air traffic during the night. Information on the consultation boards showed that air traffic would increase from 50% to 75% each day. This was of great concern to residents, many of whom told this website that they struggle to sleep at night due to current levels of air traffic.

The board detailing the impact of Heathrow on the environment was viewed with suspicion by some residents. Heathrow already contributes to illegal levels of air pollution and many Putney residents were concerned the air quality around their homes, schools and businesses would worsen if the airport expands. The board stated that the plans would only be approved if the government were sure that low emission targets were achievable. However there was no indication of what would be done if these targets were not met.

There were some elements of the consultation that Putney residents found more reassuring, such as the promise of noise insulation for homes worst affected by the increase in air traffic. Heathrow also promised financial compensation for many of the homes and businesses impacted by the expansion. However would Putney be identified as an area that is affected?

A positive feature of the consultation that was mentioned frequently by attendees was the helpful assistance of government staff present at the event. One resident described them as, “well-informed, helpful, friendly, and willing to answer really specific questions.” However, the same resident also noted that attendees needed to have a sufficient understanding of the issue to know what to ask. Indeed, if residents had read the information on the boards but not asked questions of the staff, they might have left with some misunderstanding of the proposed expansion. For example, the board describing the economic benefits used the figure of £61 billion to show how much money would go into the economy. When one resident pressed a member of staff on where exactly this money would be going, the official explained that only £1.8 billion would be put towards government spending. The rest accounted for benefits to trade, freight and passengers using Heathrow. Therefore the benefit would not be directly to the UK but to the international economy.

While the event was informative for those who knew to ask the right questions, none of those who spoke to this website came out more supportive of Heathrow’s expansion than before. One resident explained, “I felt I had better reasons for thinking it’s not a good idea,” while another simply stated, “I came out even more against Heathrow.”

So what happens next? There is a parliamentary committee reviewing the proposed expansion alongside these consultations. Meanwhile the Government is drafting a paper on the development of the aviation sector that will be published towards the end of 2017, or beginning of 2018. This paper will then by subject to a vote in the House of Commons.

A survey was available to all attendees of the consultation and can be completed online at: runwayconsultation.dialoguebydesign.com

You can find more information about the Government’s proposed expansion of Heathrow here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/heathrow-airport-expansion

Katie Polglase
@katie_polglase

March 10, 2017