John McDonnell MP updating local residents about the Judicial Review
Local MP John McDonnell re-assuring Heathrow village residents that the 3rd Runway can never be built!
About one hundred local residents came out in the pouring rain; John McDonnell went over the latest developments of the proposed Heathrow expansion. He said the two judges dismissed the Judicial Review mainly because they say that the Paris Agreement on Climate Change has not yet been made into Law in Britain! The Judges said all these contentious issues will be looked at during the “Planning stage”. Four of the five Groups that took the Government to court have since lodged an application for permission to appeal against the judgment of Hickinbottom and Holgate.
Justine read a statement from Ray Puddifoot who is Leader of the Local Hillingdon Council and was unable to attend due to the Council’s AGM. Hillingdon Council have saved up funds and will continue to appeal and object to every stage of the 3rd Runway until it is cancelled forever.
Audience comments:-
Twitter - “There was a robust discussion of the latest developments in the plans to expand Heathrow. The mood from the meeting was that this was far from over, with residents ready for the fight ahead.”
- there is a detrimental effect on the Health and Mental wellbeing of locals with stress and constant harassment/letters
- The “world class” package of compensation" is a pitiful 25% and NOTHING for tenants/leassee’s /landlords/etc
- Land Referencing and Heathrow going after tenants - not the lease holders who actually own the land below the flats/houses. Will the miniscule 25% compensation be split between the flat owner AND the lease holder???
- The Heathrow Villages will receive a "Wake up" booklet from S.H.E. in June before Heathrows consultation on the 18th June.
- Heathrow's extremely run-down housing stock in Sipson is creating poor Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO's) destroying local community spirit
- The 3rd Runway is a non-starter and cant ever be built. With “Extinction Rebellion” protesters bringing central London to a standstill, Climate Change and Global Warming, we cant have an extra 250,000 fossil fuel guzzling planes polluting London.
- the intense noise, vibrations and pollution will make thousands of extra homes in the "Outer" Compulsory Purchase Zone inhabitable. You cant have schools like this Heathrow Junior School in Sipson, right at the end on the proposed 3rd Runway - all these communities and villages would have to be demolished and Heathrow is not paying to re-build them else where!
H.A.S.R.A. offered to take any complaints about Heathrow’s unsightly run-down housing stock in Sipson to Heathrow’s Housing Company... and gave a resounding No 3rd Runway – EVER Again!
Longford Residents Association Chairman explaining to our MP how Heathrow and the Land Registration representatives (with body guards) are constantly harassing vulnerable local residents in Longford Village.
B.A.S.H. - asked if we were all talking about "adding a passenger duty" to frequent flier tickets or asking for governments to “tax the fossil fuel Kerosene”, like they do petrol.
Hillingdon is one of a coalition of councils challenging proposed Heathrow expansion. The group comprises the London boroughs of Hillingdon, Wandsworth, Richmond and Hammersmith and Fulham, Windsor and Maidenhead Council, the Mayor of London, Greenpeace and now Southwark Council have joined the Coalition.
Hillingdon Council Leader, Cllr Ray Puddifoot, said: "As I said when the legal action commenced, this would be a long battle and I remain convinced that we will ultimately succeed. Both Heathrow Airport Ltd and the Dept of Transport are aware of the weakness of their case {for expansion} and will try to stop our action by challenging our right to use public funds to defend our residents and our environment. "As I promised our residents in our manifesto for the council election last year, we have set aside sufficient funding to cover the cost of this action over the coming years and we will accept no advice on the correct use of public money from the Secretary of State for Transport given his lamentable record on both HS2 and the ferry company with no ferries that actually saw £50 million written off on the same day he was criticising us on the Heathrow legal case costs."
Wandsworth Council Leader, Cllr Ravi Govindia, said: "The negative impact of Heathrow's operations has been a constant blight on the quality of life for our residents for many years. The noise and disturbance along with its damaging effect on air quality are issues we simply cannot ignore. Our residents expect us to continue to stand up for their interests and to challenge the view that Heathrow expansion can be achieved without serious environmental cost."
Richmond Council Leader, Cllr Gareth Roberts, said: "We are clear. A bigger Heathrow will lead to more cars. It will lead to more air pollution. An expanded airport will bring more polluting 'filth' from the skies, onto our heads and that of our children, damaging our health. "Last May we promised our residents that we will fight this expansion in every way possible. We will continue to stand up for all local people and challenge this decision."
Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead Leader, Cllr Simon Dudley, said: "To protect our legal position we will be applying for leave to appeal..."
Hammersmith & Fulham Leader, Cllr Stephen Cowan said: "A third runway is the wrong approach for our economy, our environment and our quality of life so we will fight on."
Plan B Earth said: Today Plan B Earth wishes to challenge the Secretary of State’s decision to designate the Airports National Policy Statement (“the ANPS”) in support of the expansion of Heathrow Airport under the Planning Act 2008, on the basis of his failure to give proper consideration to the climate change impacts of the proposal.