Supporter Update, December 2021
Supporter Update, December 2021
Read the interactive version of our newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/b1b4b2bc2eff/newsletter-december-2021?e=5b11c167a4
This is the time of year when the Stop Heathrow Expansion campaign has normally held its AGM. Last year we had to cancel it because of the pandemic, and this year we’ve made the same decision for similar reasons. Despite the lack of formal reporting meetings, the Committee has not been sitting back and doing nothing. Those of you who read our regular newsletters will know what’s been happening, and as a reminder we’ve put together a short report on the last two years of our campaign. The images below show some of our more visible activity since the last AGM (when pandemic rules have allowed).
We would like to put on record our thanks to the London Borough of Hillingdon for their continuing support for our campaign, and the opportunities they are offering us to work more closely with their environmental teams.
The pandemic has caused major disruption to air traffic, as well as much else, and has led Heathrow to say that its priority is to rebuild lost business while its expansion plans are, for the moment, ‘on pause’. We had hoped they would go further and admit a third runway would never be built. Until that happens, we continue to campaign for permanent cancellation of the project; communities around the airport need an end to the uncertainty that has become an almost permanent part of all our lives, as we said to the media in early November.
We have every reason to believe momentum is on our side. Indeed, the Prime Minister's recent remarks gave Heathrow no encouragement that the government are keen to see expansion go ahead. We also have other reasons for optimism in 2022: the Government will present its plans for Jet Zero aviation, we hope by the spring , which could lead to a review of the Airports National Policy Statement on Heathrow expansion; Heathrow’s majority shareholder is concerned that expansion won’t deliver a sufficient return and may not put further capital into a third runway; and there is the growing body of evidence that Sustainable Aviation Fuels won’t give Heathrow a free pass to expand whenever it wishes in the future, as we argued in these letters published in City A.M and the Camden New Journal.
However, we are remaining vigilant: Heathrow may decide to seek ‘interim’ forms of expansion through increasing the current flight cap, more night flights or runway extensions. We oppose all forms of Heathrow expansion and continue to fight for the preservation of our local quality of life. We hope we’ll continue to have your support. We are not going to let up until we win!
If you would like to take a more active role in our campaign, perhaps by joining our committee (which oversees our work programme at monthly meetings), then do please get in touch via info@stopheathrowexpansion.co.uk. If you would like to donate to our campaign, we have just updated the donations page on our website. We accept card payments, securely, via Stripe. Alternatively, if you'd prefer to send a cheque, reply to this email and we'll provide our postal address.
This is the last SHE newsletter for this year. We send it with our best wishes for the holiday season and hope you have a thoroughly enjoyable time. We’ll be back again with further updates in the New Year.
Justine Bayley
Chairman, Stop Heathrow Expansion