| Heathrow plans spark "mother of all battles" | |||||
Expansion controversy will be Newbury by-pass of the skies
The Government is expected to endorse a big expansion of Heathrow next week. This follows a decision by ministers that economic benefits coming from the expanded airport would outweigh environmental damage. A new flight path would have to be created, passing over Acton Chiswick and Fulham. An additional 500 flights a day would pass over London. At the same time, BAA, which owns Heathrow, is secretly developing a pollution charging scheme targeted at lorries to overcome the problem of poor air quality around the airport in West London. The Department for Transport has been monitoring air pollution levels around Heathrow and is confident they can be reduced to comply with European limits by the time a third runway opens. BAA hopes to submit a planning application for a third runway at Heathrow in 2008 and to open it by 2017. A BAA source said: “We are completely committed to expanding Heathrow.” The Chairman of ClearSkies, John Stewart, who opposes the expansion of Heathrow, said: “The Government is gearing up to allow a new runway at Heathrow before Stansted but they won’t be honest about it. “There will be the mother of all battles over Heathrow because the environmental movement sees it as a cause célèbre. It will be the Newbury bypass of the skies.” December 8, 2006 |