HEATHROW ENVIRONMENT PLAN DOES NOT DELIVER FOR COMMUNITIES

PRESS RELEASE

10 February 2022

For immediate use

HEATHROW ENVIRONMENT PLAN DOES NOT DELIVER FOR COMMUNITIES

Residents fighting plans to expand Heathrow have dismissed a newly published sustainability plan by Heathrow, arguing it does not deliver for communities around the airport

Heathrow’s Connecting People and Planet (1) outlines fails to offer fresh proposals to benefit communities and is heavily reliant on actions of others to deliver any of its objectives. We note two areas in particular:

The Plan aims to halve surface access carbon emissions by 2030 yet there is no commitment to reinvesting in the Free Travel Zone, a free bus scheme in operation inside and in areas close to the airport’s perimeter. Heathrow withdrew funding in 2021. It cost just £1.2m per year, on average, based on pre-pandemic demand (2).

Further, the plan fails to offer any real commitments to end highly disruptive night flights, blaming the Government’s long-term review. Heathrow could demonstrate its commitments to providing a better environment for local residents by imposing its own reduction in these flights, between the hours of 11pm and 7am.

Geraldine Nicholson from local campaign group Stop Heathrow Expansion, said:

 “We want Heathrow to be a better, not bigger Airport. But this plan is, sadly, a rehash of existing underwhelming measures that do not give us any confidence that Heathrow is truly interested in being a better neighbour.  It does not deliver for communities.

“In this plan, we would like to have seen a commitment to significantly reducing or ending highly disruptive night flights. That would have been a positive start, followed by re-supporting local public transport initiatives such as the Free Travel Zone that it scrapped during the pandemic. Then, of course, followed by scrapping the 3rd runway project becoming a better neighbour and employer, as passenger demand rises this year”.

ENDS.

Notes: 

1.     Heathrow 2.0, Connecting People and Planet https://www.heathrow.com/content/dam/heathrow/web/common/documents/company/heathrow-2-0-sustainability/futher-reading/Heathrow%202.0%20Connecting%20People%20and%20Planet%20FINAL.pdf

2.     TfL confirm cost of Heathrow Free Travel Zone https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2021/0998