Battle for Heathrow's third runway is set for take off! Airport unveils £49BILLION plans - but greens and mayor remain bitterly opposed
Britain's biggest airport believes the project, including terminals and infrastructure, can be built within a decade at a cost of around £49 billion.
If passed, it will allow flights to 30 new destinations, add 0.43 per cent to the UK's GDP and carry 66 million more passengers per year, Heathrow says.
But it is set to face a battle, with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who is strongly opposed to a third runway on noise and environmental grounds, suggesting he could launch a legal challenge.
The extension would involve diverting a section of the M25 through a tunnel running underneath the new runway and will mean a major redesign of the airport.
The submission of the plans comes ahead of the Government formally approving proposals for a second runway at Gatwick in the next few weeks.
It marks the largest expansion of Britain's airports for half a century, as Labour attempts to revive Britain's sluggish economy with infrastructure projects. But it will also reignite a major row within the party and highlight sharp divides between those who want growth and those concerned about the environment.
While a majority of MPs are likely to back the project if it goes to a vote, Sir Keir Starmer and many of his Cabinet ministers have previously voted against Heathrow expansion.
But it is set to face a battle, with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (pictured), who is strongly opposed to a third runway on noise and environmental grounds, suggesting he could launch a legal challenge
Earlier this year, Ed Miliband, the Secretary for Energy Security and Net Zero, had to issue a statement saying he wouldn't quit over the third runway given his previous opposition to the plans.
Political rows and legal challenges over pollution have repeatedly held up plans for a Heathrow expansion, which were first raised more than two decades ago.
The plans will be reviewed by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander before a consultation on the airport's national policy statement. Should permission be granted for a new runway, a full planning application can then be submitted in 2028.
The new runway would mean 276,000 new flights annually and 68million more passengers. It would cost £21billion, with the rest of the planned budget paying for a redesign of the airport. The total number of flights would increase to 756,000 a year, carrying 150million passengers.
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: 'It has never been more important or urgent to expand Heathrow. We are effectively operating at capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity.'
The expansion will be financed by private investment, but airlines have expressed concern that the airport will hike its passenger charges to pay for the project.
Business groups welcomed the plans, saying they were 'an investment in the nation's future'.
A joint statement from the Confederation of British Industry, British Chambers of Commerce, MakeUK, Federation of Small Businesses and Institute of Directors said: 'The benefits are clear: for exporters, it opens up vital access to major and emerging markets; for visitors, it enhances global and domestic connectivity; and for businesses, it unlocks billions in private investment, strengthening supply chains, creating jobs, and driving skills across the country.'
But green campaigners continue to oppose the expansion, arguing that it is bad for the environment due to noise and air pollution.
Dr Douglas Parr, policy director for Greenpeace UK, said: 'The Government has decided yet again to prioritise more leisure opportunities for a comparatively small group of frequent fliers, while the rest of us have to live with the consequences of their disproportionate polluting.'
Richard Holden, Shadow Transport Secretary, welcomed the announcement but said it was vital it got the expansion right.
'The Government's role is now to ensure the process delivers real benefits for Britain, for passengers, protects taxpayers, and guarantees proper local consultation,' he said.
A rival expansion plan has also been submitted – hotel tycoon Surinder Arora's proposal includes a shorter third runway, which he claims will be cheaper and quicker to build.
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Metro
18 minutes ago
- Metro
The disability employment gap affects 16million of us - can the goverment fix it
When Keighley Miles was at school, it was always assumed that she wouldn't be able to find work. 'Nothing was ever mentioned about career options or further education,' the 39-year-old, who was born deaf, tells Metro. 'I can't remember ever being told that I could do whatever I wanted, or anybody talking to me about what life would be like as a deaf adult.' It's no wonder that such a lack of support left Keighley, who lives in Essex, struggling to find consistent work after leaving school – a problem compounded by difficulties communicating. 'We moved from London to Essex when I was 15, and I didn't attend school after that,' she continues. 'It led to depression and left me feeling like I wouldn't ever achieve anything in life.' 40-year-old Holly Donovan can relate, never having a full-time job. Not because they don't want one, but because they cannot find employment that accommodates their disability. 'All I want to do is work, but there aren't enough opportunities for disabled people like me,' says Holly, who uses a wheelchair due to a childhood cancer which left them with chronic pain and a metal rod in their back. 'I'm stuck only living on Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which could be cut under Labour's plans, while my partner has to support me because I can't bring any money in. I'm living in poverty, and I shouldn't be.' The difference in employment rates between disabled and non-disabled people is stark. At the end of 2024, the disability employment gap stood at 28.6% – a 1% increase from 2023. It's a breach that has remained stagnant at around 30% for three decades, and while Labour has promised to get one million people back into work, the workplace hurdles disabled people face are often complex. 'The disability employment gap exists because of a combination of systemic, structural, and cultural barriers,' explains Sue Wray, head of community for Hamelin, a disability charity focused on empowering autistic adults and people with learning disabilities. 'Then there's the issue of assumptions; too many employers still make snap judgements about someone's abilities without really understanding their strengths.' As Keighley and Holly know too well, the roots of the issue often stem way before working age. And while there's no doubt that upcoming generations have benefited from the improvement of special educational needs (SEN) education, many disabled children are still losing out on access to proper education. Talking about their school days in the late nineties, Holly tells Metro: 'There was no form of encouragement; they would just dump me in a corner, isolated, then push me to my next lesson to get dumped again. 'School was something I had to endure rather than taking anything from and nobody taught me about reasonable adjustments, so I had no idea I could ask for them at work opportunities.' When Holly did get their first work experience at a pharmacy as an assistant, it was cut short due to physical pain. 'By the end of the first week, I just burst into tears because I was in too much pain,' they say. 'That was the point when I realised that I didn't know what I was going to do because my body clearly couldn't handle traditional employment.' Research shows that approximately 28% of UK workers use a hybrid model of work, splitting time between home and the office, and around 13% of workers are fully remote. While this may feel like a step towards workplace inclusivity, Holly believes that it doesn't address the base issue: without being able to gain meaningful work placement in the first place, it's nigh on impossible to secure a job – remote or not. 'How am I ever going to compete in a job market where I'll never have the same amount of experience as an able-bodied person of the same age? Last time I went for a remote position, I was fighting against 321 people; it's no wonder that I didn't get it,' says Holly. While the rights of disabled people at work are protected under the Equality Act 2010, many are unaware that they are eligible for support. For example, the government grant scheme Access to Work helps cover additional costs for employers and employees with health issues. In 2023/24, it supported nearly 50,000 people, but the system is under immense pressure. The average wait time for assistance is currently 12 to 16 weeks, with some waiting up to 30 weeks. 'Although it can be life-changing when it works well, delays, poor communication, and inconsistent decision-making have left many unable to access the support they need,' explains Sue Wray. 'In some cases, people have had to turn down employment opportunities altogether due to waiting months for the assistance they were entitled to.' Keighley is one of the scheme's success stories. When her second son was born deaf in 2015, she wanted to lead by example and show him that he could achieve anything he wanted, so set her sights on becoming a childminder. 'In past customer service jobs, I would lose commissions because I'd have to pass clients over to colleagues when I couldn't hear them – but then I met a wonderful lady who was a childminder who offered me a job,' she says. 'Around that time, I also learned about Access to Work and realised that when the time came, I could set up my own childminding business with the right support.' Keighley has since founded her own business, which provides communication support workers for 40 hours a week, enabling her to communicate effectively with parents. But, Keighley stresses, she only found out about Access to Work after meeting other deaf adults at a group for deaf toddlers and children. 'I came across it by chance,' she says. Another government initiative, the Disability Confident scheme, encourages employers to think differently; however, Jane Hatton, CEO and founder of EvenBreak, a not-for-profit career support service for disabled people, believes it 'lacks accountability and meaningful benchmarks'. 'Disability Confident rightly acknowledges that employers must become more inclusive, she adds, 'but data shows that those employers [who have] become 'Disability Confident' don't employ more disabled people than others, so the label is largely symbolic.' EvenBreak is one of the numerous non-governmental organisations making significant efforts to close the gap by collaborating with job seekers and employers to provide support and resources that enhance inclusivity and accessibility. Hamelin is another, and has launched an initiative called Ability Works to support autistic adults and individuals with learning disabilities in securing employment. One person benefitting, is Ederson Silva, 45, who had to start from scratch following an accident that made him a wheelchair user. As the main provider for his family, Ederson had to return to work because even after 30 years of pension contributions, the support provided wouldn't cover the basic needs of his family. However, he tells Metro, he found it challenging to convince recruiters and employers of his employability. 'Vacancies for people with disabilities tend to be very limited; this was the biggest challenge, there are simply fewer opportunities,' he explains from his home in Broughton. 'I was fortunate to have over 22 years of prior experience in my field, and working in a specialised area made it more attractive for companies to value my expertise despite my disability.' After getting in touch with STEM Returners, Ederson was contacted with a 12-week placement opportunity and the scheme supported him through every step. 'At the end, I had the opportunity to become a permanent member of the team and I took it,' he adds. 'I had very little hope of being able to provide a dignified life for my family again. Now, I feel once again a respected professional in the workforce. Being able to give my family the dignity they deserve has been life-changing.' Meanwhile, Holly has joined a UK government initiative called The Work and Health Programme but admits the process is incredibly frustrating. 'It was absolute murder to try and get on it; I'd phone up the DWP hotline and most of them didn't even know the scheme existed,' Holly explains. Although the initiative helped them write a CV and get interviews, no job offers followed. 'I always get great feedback – but they still go with someone who has more experience every time,' she says. 'I feel used as part of a tick box exercise for employers to show that they've looked at disabled people for the job.' Following the announcement of Labour's numerous plans to help disabled people return to work, a DWP spokesperson told Metro: 'We are determined to bring down the disability employment gap and to do this, our £1 billion reforms will help sick or disabled out of poverty and our Keep Britain Working review will provide recommendations for government and employers on how they can better support disabled people and those with ill health who are at risk of falling out of work.' Despite this apparent will to close the gap, many experts feel the solution remains unclear. Others also warn that the government's approach does not take into account some disabled and chronically ill people. More Trending 'If we're serious about closing that gap, we need practical, properly funded support that's delivered efficiently and designed with disabled people, not just for them,' says Sue Wray. 'The Connect to Work programme [a new government initiative to help disabled people move into and maintian work] might be a step towards this, but we remain unconvinced that the level of funding is sufficient to make any significant headway, especially as providers are asked to deliver support for a very broad group of jobseekers, including people with mental health conditions, ex-offenders and care leavers, within a relatively small financial envelope.' 'The government needs to stop cutting essential support and start strengthening what already exists,' adds Jane Hatton. 'Just as importantly, the narrative needs to change. 'The idea that disabled people choose not to work is simply untrue and deeply damaging. The government should lead by example and employ more disabled people directly to show what inclusive hiring really looks like.' MORE: Want the ultimate wedding makeup? Charlotte Tilbury's bridal services are the perfect choice! MORE: SURI just dropped the ultimate oral-care bundle – and it's a must for travel MORE: Is 'powder conditioner' the secret to better hair? We unpack the waterless wonder
Times
19 minutes ago
- Times
Mortgage prices are falling – should you fix?
A fresh mortgage price war has come to the rescue of hundreds of thousands of borrowers whose cheap pandemic home loans are about to expire. More than 760,000 homeowners' fixed-rate deals are due to come to an end this year. And many of those will be braced for crippling rises of up to £300 a month when they come off loans with interest rates as low as 1 per cent. However, lenders are slashing rates this summer as they compete for business in a 'buyer's market', with a record number of properties for sale. This slowdown in the housing market has caused banks to focus on deals for those who are remortgaging. Figures released by the Bank of England this week showed that the 41,800 remortgages approved last month was the most since October 2022, just after Liz Truss's disastrous mini-budget, which sent mortgage rates soaring. On Wednesday the building society Nationwide became the latest lender to cut rates, slashing fixed deals by up to 0.21 percentage points. Shaun Sturgess, a mortgage broker based in Swansea, said: 'For many this is the first window of opportunity in over two years to secure a competitive fixed rate below 4 per cent.' The Bank of England is also expected to cut its base rate to 4 per cent on Thursday after weak growth and a rise in unemployment. This would drive down mortgage costs for the millions of borrowers with tracker or variable-rate deals. The lowest five-year fixed rate available at up to 60 per cent loan-to-value has been cut from 3.96 per cent at the start of May to 3.86 per cent on Thursday from HSBC, while the lowest five-year fix for someone buying a home has stayed the same at 3.88 per cent, available from NatWest. The lowest two-year fix is 3.8 per cent from Santander for someone remortgaging, down from 3.96 per cent at the start of May. While the lowest two-year fix for a buyer is lower, at 3.73 per cent from the same lender, it has been cut by slightly less — down from 3.88 per cent. Some 222,480 homeowners took out five-year fixes between the start of August and the end of December 2020, according to the trade association UK Finance, when the Bank of England base rate was at an all-time low of 0.1 per cent (it is now 4.25 per cent) and fixed mortgage rates could be had for well below 2 per cent. Many took advantage of low pandemic-era interest rates to move to bigger homes, or remortgaged to make home improvements. Between January and August 2020 the average mortgage amount rose from £174,671 to £193,992. Rates then soared after the Bank of England increased the base rate 14 times between December 2021 and August 2023, to a peak of 5.25 per cent, in a bid to tame high inflation. The average mortgage rate hit a peak of 5.74 per cent in July 2023, according to the Bank of England. Five years ago the lowest rate was 1.4 per cent. Someone with a £200,000 25-year mortgage would pay £791 a month, which would rise to £1,056 at a rate of 4 per cent. At a rate of 3.8 per cent, repayments would be slightly lower at £1,034 a month — £264 less a year. Peter Gettins from the broker L&C said: 'Whether you call it a rate war or rate skirmish, banks are keen to compete for your business and are pricing as aggressively as they possibly can. That can only be good news for anyone looking to remortgage or buy.' Borrowers could opt for a tracker deal with a rate that rises and falls in line with the Bank rate. Nationwide's tracker is 0.19 percentage points above Bank rate for two years with no early repayment charge. The mortgage broker Adrian Anderson expects the price war to continue. He said: 'A lot of the banks are fighting for market share. Many will be behind their annual targets because purchase transactions are down, so they will want to try and entice people to take a mortgage with them and increase their loan book.' Aneisha Beveridge from the estate agency Hamptons believes that more competitive rates are increasing affordability for buyers, which will drive house price growth. She said: 'After a sluggish 2024 we expect average house prices across Great Britain to rise 3 per cent year-on-year in the last quarter of 2025, reaching about £277,000.' The average detached house sold for £441,439 in May, according to the Land Registry. A 3 per cent rise in prices would take it to £454,682. • Will you bag a 3% interest rate in the summer mortgage sale? Beveridge added: 'Falling mortgage rates, weakening inflation and rising wages have all helped to ease pressure on household budgets.' Historically, dramatic falls in the Bank's base rate have helped to fuel house price booms, with the 2008 financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic leading to spikes. The base rate is expected to fall to at least 3.75 per cent before the end of the year. Beveridge said: 'Much of this is already priced in. However, competitive lending — especially for higher loan-to-value products where lending requirements have loosened — should support first-time buyers and second-steppers.' Latest figures from the property website Rightmove put the average rate for a two-year fix at 4.52 per cent, which is 0.74 percentage points lower than the same time last year. The average five-year fix is 4.51 per cent, down 0.36 percentage points compared with June 2024. House prices could also be boosted by high street banks easing the 'stress tests' that are used to make sure borrowers can still afford repayments if their mortgage rate rose. Forecasts by the analyst Oxford Economics predict that the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage with a loan-to-value of 75 per cent could drop from June's 4.32 per cent figure to 4.17 per cent by the end of the year. By July next year it expects this to fall to 4.02 per cent. These falls will support house price growth, with Oxford Economics expecting house prices to hit 3.6 per cent year-on-year growth in the third quarter of the year, and then 2.5 per cent in the final quarter. Edward Allenby from Oxford Economics said: 'We expect house prices to grow, but that growth is expected to soften over the next year. That is because household income growth is likely to slow, whether that is through higher inflation, tighter fiscal policy, frozen thresholds and potentially higher taxes.' In the first quarter of 2025 year-on-year house price growth was 5.5 per cent. An oversupply of homes could also cause price growth to slow. Zoopla reported this week that there were about 553,000 homes up for sale, a record high. • House price boom? Inflation means all is not as it seems Richard Donnell from Zoopla said: 'Price growth is being stunted by the high supply of homes for sale, with 12 per cent more properties on the market than this time last year. 'This supports a 'buyers' market' where there's plenty of choice and offers can be competitive, limiting house price increases.' For homeowners coming to the end of their mortgage term, it looks like a good time to shop around, with significant rate drops for those who want to switch lenders. Gettins said: 'In the last 6 to 12 months the gaps between rates for first-time buyers and those remortgaging have narrowed. Banks are becoming more competitive for those remortgaging as they are for movers, and that's a positive sign for anyone whose deal is maturing.' Analysis by L&C has found that the lowest remortgage rate for a two-year fix is 3.79 per cent, a fall of 0.17 percentage points since the start of May. This has nearly matched the rate for buyers, with the lowest two-year fixed mortgage rate at 3.76 per cent, which is 0.22 percentage points lower than the May equivalent. Experts have said that the high number of people remortgaging is driven by the better rates but also a 'perfect storm' of people coming off their two and five-year mortgages at the same time. Chris Sykes from the mortgage broker MSP Financial Solutions said: 'There have been a series of events that have led to a big remortgage year. 'You probably fixed at five years in Covid before rates rose, and then those getting mortgages two years ago when rates went really high after the Truss budget would have fixed for two years hoping rates would come down.'
Times
19 minutes ago
- Times
Times letters: PM's backing for a third runway at Heathrow
Write to letters@ Sir, Your leading article ('Cleared for Takeoff', Aug 1) and the cogently argued business commentary by Alistair Osborne ('Heathrow runway is an expensive folly', Aug 1) both admit that Heathrow should not be there in the first place. Indeed, and if one is in a hole any sensible reaction would be to stop digging. We all know that the costs of £21 billion for the runway and £12 billion on top of that for another terminal will end up hugely inflated, and that the upgrades necessary for transportation to and from Heathrow will incur further enormous expenditure. Sooner or later there will be a catastrophe when an aircraft crashes on London, made all the more likely when power failures and control systems can cause such mayhem. Ministers' lip service to environmental considerations is further exposed as James Stevens CurlHolywood, Co Down Sir, You report that 'work is under way within the government to curb the ability of environmental groups and other campaigners to bring legal challenges against national infrastructure projects' ('M25 could be relocated 'overnight' to build a third Heathrow runway', Aug 1). One can only wonder what Labour would have said had the Conservatives tried to bring in such HartRickmansworth, Herts Sir, Old campaigners against a third runway at Heathrow will now have to dust off their posters and letters of protest: clearly we are all going to have to go through the old arguments again. Nothing appears to have happened to change the Department for Transport's own study. This suggested that if more airport capacity were really needed then on both economic and environmental grounds it should be at McLuskeyAshford, Middx Sir, Proposals for a third runway at Heathrow and another at Gatwick are misguided. The skies over southeast England are already overcrowded and new runways will simply increase the problem. The answer is to build a five-runway, state-of-the-art airport in the Thames Estuary, with fast rail links. This would serve our needs for the next century. Heathrow and Gatwick could then be closed down, freeing up land for much-needed PrattStorrington, W Sussex Sir, It astounds me that whenever the disruption and cost of expanding Heathrow is discussed there is never any mention of Birmingham airport. It is located in a relatively unpopulated area with a mainline rail station and good public access: it is next to motorway links and is about an hour from the capital by car or train. But of course, it's not London — silly JohnsonWolverhampton Sir, I wonder if my children will have retired by the time the third runway at Heathrow is operational? In China, or indeed France, the planning and construction would be rapidly accomplished. No one would expect that in the ValePewsey, Wilts Sir, Having seen the PM's plans for a third runway at Heathrow, perhaps Sir Humphrey should whisper in his ear: 'Remember HS2.'Martin WrightChinnor, Oxon Sir, Italians will be aware that most of the projects Edward Lucas praises in his article were actually initiated before 2022, the year Giorgia Meloni became prime minister ('Confident Italy shows us how to bounce back', comment, Jul 31). She inherited a €198 billion loan from the EU, which I suspect Rachel Reeves would welcome and do good things with. If Lucas were to come further south on holiday he would find unemployment in the eight provinces of southern Italy 10 per cent higher than the richer north that he visited. A total of 18.9 per cent of Italians live in poverty, and the figure is increasing. GDP per capita has not increased since Meloni became PM and government debt as a share of GDP has increased under her Gozi MEPFormer Italian secretary of state for European Affairs Sir, Edward Lucas's overenthusiastic assessment of Italy's thriving and booming economy overlooks the simple and very sad fact that Italy still offers very few opportunities for young people, even those with university degrees. They find it easier to find a job in a café in London than in Milan or Rome. It's still pretty impossible to get a position at an Italian university if one lacks a powerful backer. Bright scientists and academics instead flock to the US or the UK. Nasa, for example, has many Italians working there as do many Ivy League universities, as well as Oxford and Salvatore Santagati (PhD, LSE)London W1 Sir, Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Rees-Mogg may have better luck than my wife (TMS, Jul 31). A couple of years ago my wife was dropping off a bag for her brother at the Cavalry and Guards Club. The doorman took one look at the jeans she was wearing and before she could say a word politely pointed out that the RAF Club was next door.J Martin ScottShaftesbury, Dorset Sir, The fall in numbers of students studying modern languages is indeed dire (news, Jul 31; letter, Aug 1). I agree with Nick Hillman of the Higher Education Policy Institute that the withdrawal of the compulsory study of languages was 'probably the worst educational policy of this century'. A wider grasp of the heritage of Europe (and at degree level, training in cogently assembling a wide range of facts) is useful in many professions. Megan Bowler is right that a 'linguistic mindset fosters vital skills'. Indeed, many of my students leave university for successful careers in journalism and the law and are destined for the higher echelons of management and government. We will not re-establish meaningful relationships with our neighbours with the 'island mentality' that, at present, inhibits those in secondary education from an understanding of the cultural infrastructure and substratum of Bourne-TaylorAssociate professor of French, and fellow, Brasenose College, Oxford Sir, I have no doubt that AI has a part to play in making prisons safer ('AI predicts risk from violent inmates before jail attacks happen', Jul 31) but removing drugs from jails by using drug wands, sniffer boxes and DroneGuard, while disabling mobile phones and reducing overcrowding, will have a greater effect. Tasers will have an impact during riots and concerted acts of indiscipline but not on immediate acts of violence as they won't be to hand. The most effective way to reduce the risk of violence is by staff developing good relationships with prisoners. Inexperienced staff in overcrowded prisons are merely BerryRet'd prison governor, Countesthorpe, Leics Sir, Martin Samuel is right ('Rushing this Test series off stage has robbed it of the players we pay to see', Aug 1). Test matches — the pinnacle of the sport — are being wrecked by the thoughtless compression of scheduling and now we will have no cricket for a month, all to make room for a spectacle said to be crowd-pleasing and money-making, although it is curious that no other cricketing nation has shown the remotest interest in the Hundred. The ECB has done a fine job of destroying our national DykeLondon N21 Sir, I agree with David A De Saxe (letter, Aug 1) that modern bats improve batting. But surely the main reason batting has improved is the use of helmets, which enable batsmen to face fast bowling without risk of serious EvansTunbridge Wells, Kent Sir, Contrary to Raymond Gubbay's suggestion ('Albert Hall seats', letter, Jul 31), the National Lottery were on the ball. Like all seat holders, while I did gain from the lottery funding improvements I was obliged to pay a proportionate share of the GilbertMarlow, Bucks Sir, Aside from pay erosion, the incentives for resident doctors to change tack career-wise are well described (letters, Jul 28–31), but there is a new one. Why wouldn't a recently qualified doctor with a huge student debt and possibly a young family consider switching to one of the new physician assistant roles? The pay is considerably better, the post comes with job security and comprehensive senior medical supervision, and there is no need for regular exams or to move around the country every couple of years while working nights and weekends as a matter of routine. That is regardless of the intense work pressure endured by these young resident doctors daily, hundreds of whom are now finding that there are no NHS jobs for them anyway after their first two years of hospital practice (news, Jul 30). The only downside is that the NHS would soon run out of GPs and hospital RP ColeNHS consultant surgeon, Salisbury Sir, Katie Glass raises hopes for many in making a few quid from renting her home ('I'm sleeping in a caravan so I can put my cottage on Airbnb', Times2, Jul 28). Potential followers of her advice would be well advised to check with local planning requirements and their home insurance policy before proceeding. Such moves may be below the radar but not above the planning HoweRhossili, Gower Peninsula Sir, Every good wish to the new Archbishop of Wales ('Church elects gay, female archbishop', Jul 31). As well as being informed of her employment history and views on sexuality, I'm sure some of us would be glad to know whether she speaks CorkettBangor, Gwynedd Sir, My Uncle Charlie worked on the Cowes chain ferry in the 1950s and had an index and middle finger missing (letter, Aug 1). As he explained: 'I was trying to pick a stray fag packet out of the chains while we were crossing the river. I just thought I could do it, quick like.' I relayed this story to the newly promoted chain ferry master when I met him in the 1980s. 'Oh yes?', he said, holding up his three- digit right hand. 'You mean like this?'Suzie MarwoodLondon SW6 Sir, I can definitely support the theory of ditching a flashy car for a small hatchback to woo women (news, Jul 31). I owned an MG Midget in the 1960s and had no luck in attracting the right sort of woman, but on the day I swapped it for a Hillman Imp I met the woman who is now my wife. We are still happily married RussellHarpenden, Herts Write to letters@
