After Heathrow formally announced its new plans for expansion on Tuesday, Ruth Cadbury MP has responded, calling them 'deeply damaging for London' and has urged the Government to 'put the environment and our national economy first, and stop Heathrow expansion'.
The new plans from Heathrow will see construction of the Third Runway, and supporting infrastructure continue until 2050, at a cost of £31 billion.
Speaking after the release of the report, Ruth Cadbury MP said:
''Now that we know the reality of Heathrow expansion, it's clear that it will be deeply damaging for London. Another runway will cause significant noise disturbance to communities not currently overflown such as Osterley, Brentford & Chiswick, and add yet more traffic and congestion on local roads. Meanwhile it does nothing to reduce regional transport inequality within the UK, or to tackle climate change. Just last week the Government said they wanted to reach net zero emissions by 2050- how can they do that whilst expanding Heathrow, and adding six million tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere?'
The cost of expansion will be huge at £31 billion, and the Department for Transport's own figures show that there will be no net benefit for the UK economy from expansion. Indeed, there is a real danger that many of the UK's regions could be left to foot the bill for the Heathrow's regional links.
Expansion will mean more noise and air pollution, more congestion and more disruption across London. The Government need to put the environment, and our national economy first and stop Heathrow expansion.''