Latest news with #StopHeathrowExpansion
Metro
01-08-2025
- Business
- Metro
Inside Heathrow's latest £49,000,000,000 plan for third runway and terminals
The race for the controversial Heathrow expansion has geared up after two rival plans are now on the table. First up were plans by billionaire businessman Surinder Arora's company, the Arora Group, which revealed cheaper plans with a shorter new runway. Now Heathrow has submitted its plan for the third runway, which would be full length and take a chunk out of the M25 nearby. Heathrow has said its plan is 'shovel-ready' and flights could take off within a decade. The new runway could add 276,000 more flights each year, increasing the number from 480,000 to 756,000 annually. The expansion would create at least 30 new daily routes and serve up to 150 million passengers, Heathrow said. Here is a breakdown of the £49 billion price tag. £21 billion -Used to build the new, full-length, 11,482ft runway north-west of the current airport, and to divert part of the M25 into a tunnel -Used to build the new, full-length, 11,482ft runway north-west of the current airport, and to divert part of the M25 into a tunnel £12 billion – This will fund the new terminal complex called T5X to allow the increased passenger numbers, baggage handling, airside and landside operations, car parks and transport connections – This will fund the new terminal complex called T5X to allow the increased passenger numbers, baggage handling, airside and landside operations, car parks and transport connections £15 billion – The current airport buildings and services will be upgraded at Terminal 2, including two satellite piers, while the old Terminal 3 and Terminal 1 will be demolished The third runway will swallow up parts of Harmondsworth in Hillingdon north of the airport, an area dotted with hundreds of homes, a primary school, pubs and a moor. Part of the M25 will be diverted into a tunnel to cut underneath the runway. Many locals are against the expansion as homes and businesses near the airport's safety perimeter face demolition, with up to 700 buildings at risk. The UK's busiest airport has been driving for the expansion for years as bosses have argued that Heathrow's capacity is full. Heathrow's CEO, Thomas Woldbye, said operating at capacity at the moment is 'to the detriment of trade and connectivity.' He said: 'With a green light from government and the correct policy support underpinned by a fit-for-purpose, regulatory model, we are ready to mobilise and start investing this year in our supply chain across the country.' The Chancellor said the move will help boost UK economic growth, but campaigners have said the expansion will result in more aircraft noise and pollution, and groups have been up in arms about the expansion idea since it wa first introduced in 2009. Greenpeace UK said the expansion will support a small number of flyers while 'the rest of us have to live with the consequences of their disproportionate polluting.' Justine Bayley, the chair of Stop Heathrow Expansion and a local resident, told Metro that the government failed to give any of the 'downsides,' adding that the Chancellor gave 'fairly meaningless assurances that all environmental aspects will be met.' She said she has seen 'all sort of threats coming and going' during her 30 years of living in the village and that the residents would continue their fight against the expansion. Ms Bayley said the country has 'managed a fair bit of growth without the additional runway.' 'It is not a magic wand for growth,' she said. Heathrow is one of the world's busiest airports as planes take off or land up to every 45 seconds across the two existing runways. It is set to see 84.2 million passengers pass through its terminals this year – an increase of 0.4% from the 83.9 million last year. Two existing runways have capacity for around 475,000 flights. The new runway would raise the capacity to around 740,000 flights. Around one-third of the UK's long-haul flights go through Heathrow, Chancellor Reeves said. She said the expansion could create more than 100,000 jobs. Alongside long-haul routes, the new runway would serve flights to domestic locations like Belfast International, Liverpool, Prestwick and Durham Tees Valley. However, easyJet, which doesn't currently serve Heathrow, said the expansion is a 'unique opportunity for easyJet to operate from the airport at scale for the first time and bring with it lower fares for consumers.' Colne Valley Regional Park said it is 'fiercely opposed' to the expansion, claiming that it would result in the 'unprecedented environmental destruction' and loss of swathes of the park located near northwest of the airport. The group said that five rivers would need to be diverted along with the M25 and local road changes. Independent advisers on the Government's Climate Change Committee recommend there should be 'no net airport expansion across the UK.' The UK is committed to reaching net zero for CO2 emissions by 2050. Chancellor Reeves has argued that growth does not need to mean compromising the net zero target, saying that the Heathrow expansion is 'badly needed.' The expansion has caused division in the government, with Ed Miliband spending years campaigning against the project before he made a U-turn and backed the proposal. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been clear about it opposition to the expansion due to the 'severe impact it will have in terms of noise, air pollution and meeting our climate change targets.' It will take years before the third runway and new terminals are operational as the planning process will take up to two years before anything can be built. More Trending The third Heathrow runway is not expected to open until the 2030s. Next, the government will consider both Heathrow Airport's and Arora Group's plans before formal planning consent is given. This article was first published on January 29. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Jockeys send desperate messages after their plane's engine failed MORE: Protesters surround Epping council office demanding migrant hotel close down MORE: KöD's signature three-course menu for only £39.50: 10 unmissable Time Out deals
The Independent
31-01-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Heathrow airport expansion will smash our community, say nearby villagers
Campaigners in a village which could be partially demolished to make way for a third runway at Heathrow airport have said the plans could 'smash our community'. Hundreds of homes could be demolished in the west London villages of Harmondsworth and Longford if the expansion gets the green light. Justine Bayley, who lives in Harmondsworth and is chairwoman of the Stop Heathrow Expansion group, said the scheme risked wiping most of the village. She told the PA news agency: 'It's inevitable that demolishing hundreds of homes will smash up a community. 'We have two pubs and two shops that would become unviable because of a lack of customers. 'There's a bus route that would have to disappear because there's a runway in the way. 'You'd end up with people being left behind … (but) the community would be gone.' Ms Bayley, who has lived in the village for 30 years, said her home would not be demolished but would be roughly '50 paces' from the boundary of the new runway. She added: 'There is some disbelief that it will actually go ahead. 'It's not the first time we've been here and this is the last in a series of proposals. 'There are many different views in the village and some, particularly those who can't sell their houses at the moment, are just wanting clarity. 'Some people think any decision is better than no decision.' The airport wants to build a third runway to raise capacity and boost resilience. In a speech on Wednesday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves highlighted the scheme among a throng of major projects she said the Government would support. Ms Reeves later said she wanted to see the expansion completed by 2035 and added the whole Cabinet is 'united' behind the plan. Richard Young, vicar at the St Mary the Virgin church in Harmondsworth, said the plans 'cut very deeply' for residents living in what he described as a 'tight-knit community'. He added: 'If it went ahead, it would have a devastating effect on the place. The vast majority of it would disappear. 'The church would stay but the community around it would go. '(The plans) have been talked about for decades and has been a blight hanging over everyone's heads. ' People can't move because no one wants to buy their homes. 'People love living here. It's their home. 'There's anxiety, fear and anger. 'But there's also tension because some people hold different views.'
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Heathrow airport expansion will smash our community, say nearby villagers
Campaigners in a village which could be partially demolished to make way for a third runway at Heathrow airport have said the plans could 'smash our community'. Hundreds of homes could be demolished in the west London villages of Harmondsworth and Longford if the expansion gets the green light. Justine Bayley, who lives in Harmondsworth and is chairwoman of the Stop Heathrow Expansion group, said the scheme risked wiping most of the village. She told the PA news agency: 'It's inevitable that demolishing hundreds of homes will smash up a community. 'We have two pubs and two shops that would become unviable because of a lack of customers. 'There's a bus route that would have to disappear because there's a runway in the way. 'You'd end up with people being left behind … (but) the community would be gone.' Ms Bayley, who has lived in the village for 30 years, said her home would not be demolished but would be roughly '50 paces' from the boundary of the new runway. She added: 'There is some disbelief that it will actually go ahead. 'It's not the first time we've been here and this is the last in a series of proposals. 'There are many different views in the village and some, particularly those who can't sell their houses at the moment, are just wanting clarity. 'Some people think any decision is better than no decision.' The airport wants to build a third runway to raise capacity and boost resilience. In a speech on Wednesday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves highlighted the scheme among a throng of major projects she said the Government would support. Ms Reeves later said she wanted to see the expansion completed by 2035 and added the whole Cabinet is 'united' behind the plan. Richard Young, vicar at the St Mary the Virgin church in Harmondsworth, said the plans 'cut very deeply' for residents living in what he described as a 'tight-knit community'. He added: 'If it went ahead, it would have a devastating effect on the place. The vast majority of it would disappear. 'The church would stay but the community around it would go. '(The plans) have been talked about for decades and has been a blight hanging over everyone's heads. 'People can't move because no one wants to buy their homes. 'People love living here. It's their home. 'There's anxiety, fear and anger. 'But there's also tension because some people hold different views.'
Khaleej Times
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
'Very sad' west Londoners oppose Heathrow expansion
In the historic west London village of Harmondsworth, Justine Bayley pointed to where Heathrow Airport's new boundary would likely sit once a third runway is built -- just yards from her home. "I'd need to put my ear defenders on every time I opened the front door," said the 74-year-old, her neat garden dotted with green signs that read "Stop Heathrow Expansion". Harmondsworth -- about an hour's train ride from central London -- has a quintessential English village feel, with its 12th-century church, grocery store, green and two pubs. But this 1,500-strong community and the neighbouring hamlet of Longford face an uncertain future after UK finance minister Rachel Reeves announced Wednesday that the government backs a new runway at Heathrow. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government hopes extending capacity at Europe's busiest airport will help spur much-needed economic growth for the country. Previous plans for extending the site have proposed bulldozing several hundred homes across the twin villages, which date back to the Anglo-Saxon period. "We're quite a close tight-knit community," said Bayley, chair of the Stop Heathrow Expansion group which campaigns against the proposed development. "A lot of people have been here 50 years plus. Their history, their memories are bound up with the houses they live in. "You can't reconstruct the community because we would be scattered everywhere," she told AFP, in front of yellow posters in her window that scream "No Third Runway". While Harmondsworth's streets are quaint and quiet, the same can't always be said for the skies above where planes can regularly be seen and heard descending towards or ascending from Heathrow. Out walking in the streets was 55-year-old Leon Jennion who has lived in Longford for three decades. When planes take off and land at Europe's biggest airport by passenger numbers his house shakes and conversations in the garden need to be paused until the aircraft have passed. "It's disruptive," said Jennion, who like many people in the area has a job related to the airport. "You hear plates rattling in your cupboards and various ornaments on shelves, and doors rattling with the vibrations." He says his home is almost certain to be demolished if the third runway goes ahead and added he would be "very sad" to leave Longford. But Jennion also hoped Reeves's announcement will finally lead to some certainty after proposals to expand Heathrow have been mooted for the best part of two decades. "I don't want to be having a threat around me anymore," said the father of a teenage child. "I just want to be able to go and, not restart my life, but just continue it somewhere decent." Outside The Five Bells pub, 18-year-old student Fletcher Rodger said he has "mixed feelings" about the plans for runway number three. "If it provides as much economic growth as the government says it's going to then unfortunately I have to say I don't mind too much. "There's always winners and there's always losers," he said. Just steps away, 63-year-old Hylton Garriock wore a red hoodie emblazoned with the words "Stop Heathrow Expansion" as he manned a stand for the eponymous campaign group. Beside him, draped over a wall, was a cloth mural boasting a giant closeup image of a plane to depict the view that the campaign group says residents will ultimately face. He stressed that more flights will worsen climate change. "Keep within the boundaries. Make a better Heathrow, not a bigger Heathrow," Garriock told AFP. Proposals to expand Heathrow have long been dogged by legal challenges, political opposition and fears over the effect it would have on the environment and noise pollution. Back at Bayley's house, parts of which date to 16th century, the activist was hopeful the plans will be stopped. "I don't want to move. I've lived here longer than I've lived anywhere else in my life," she said. "We haven't lost a campaign yet, and we're not intending to lose this one either."
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Very sad' west Londoners oppose Heathrow expansion
In the historic west London village of Harmondsworth, Justine Bayley pointed to where Heathrow Airport's new boundary would likely sit once a third runway is built -- just yards from her home. "I'd need to put my ear defenders on every time I opened the front door," said the 74-year-old, her neat garden dotted with green signs that read "Stop Heathrow Expansion". Harmondsworth -- about an hour's train ride from central London -- has a quintessential English village feel, with its 12th-century church, grocery store, green and two pubs. But this 1,500-strong community and the neighbouring hamlet of Longford face an uncertain future after UK finance minister Rachel Reeves announced Wednesday that the government backs a new runway at Heathrow. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government hopes extending capacity at Europe's busiest airport will help spur much-needed economic growth for the country. Previous plans for extending the site have proposed bulldozing several hundred homes across the twin villages, which date back to the Anglo-Saxon period. "We're quite a close tight-knit community," said Bayley, chair of the Stop Heathrow Expansion group which campaigns against the proposed development. "A lot of people have been here 50 years plus. Their history, their memories are bound up with the houses they live in. "You can't reconstruct the community because we would be scattered everywhere," she told AFP, in front of yellow posters in her window that scream "No Third Runway". While Harmondsworth's streets are quaint and quiet, the same can't always be said for the skies above where planes can regularly be seen and heard descending towards or ascending from Heathrow. Out walking in the streets was 55-year-old Leon Jennion who has lived in Longford for three decades. When planes take off and land at Europe's biggest airport by passenger numbers his house shakes and conversations in the garden need to be paused until the aircraft have passed. - 'Better, not bigger' - "It's disruptive," said Jennion, who like many people in the area has a job related to the airport. "You hear plates rattling in your cupboards and various ornaments on shelves, and doors rattling with the vibrations." He says his home is almost certain to be demolished if the third runway goes ahead and added he would be "very sad" to leave Longford. But Jennion also hoped Reeves's announcement will finally lead to some certainty after proposals to expand Heathrow have been mooted for the best part of two decades. "I don't want to be having a threat around me anymore," said the father of a teenage child. "I just want to be able to go and, not restart my life, but just continue it somewhere decent." Outside The Five Bells pub, 18-year-old student Fletcher Rodger said he has "mixed feelings" about the plans for runway number three. "If it provides as much economic growth as the government says it's going to then unfortunately I have to say I don't mind too much. "There's always winners and there's always losers," he said. Just steps away, 63-year-old Hylton Garriock wore a red hoodie emblazoned with the words "Stop Heathrow Expansion" as he manned a stand for the eponymous campaign group. Beside him, draped over a wall, was a cloth mural boasting a giant closeup image of a plane to depict the view that the campaign group says residents will ultimately face. He stressed that more flights will worsen climate change. "Keep within the boundaries. Make a better Heathrow, not a bigger Heathrow," Garriock told AFP. Proposals to expand Heathrow have long been dogged by legal challenges, political opposition and fears over the effect it would have on the environment and noise pollution. Back at Bayley's house, parts of which date to 16th century, the activist was hopeful the plans will be stopped. "I don't want to move. I've lived here longer than I've lived anywhere else in my life," she said. "We haven't lost a campaign yet, and we're not intending to lose this one either." pdh/jkb/sbk
