Ealing North
| |
|
Steve Pound MP Ealing North |
|
|
The Future of Heathrow August 2002 It's hard to be objective about Heathrow Airport. On the one hand it is by far the biggest employer in my constituency, on the other it generates a massive amount of complaints and causes real concern. People don't like the late and early morning take-offs and landings, and they have good reason to complain to their MP. Sleep is a priceless resource and never more treasured than when it is destroyed by the noise of aircraft. Many an afternoon in the garden has been ruined when the flight patterns change because of weather conditions and Ealing North comes under the path. What really worries the people who are crowding into my surgeries at the moment is the possibility of a third runway at Heathrow and a seemingly limitless expansion. During the weary years of the Terminal 5 enquiry I was repeatedly assured by Heathrow Airport Limited and the British Airports Authority that there were no plans at all for a third runway. I believed them. Now the government has issued six consultation papers on future air and airport capacity in the UK.The six papers cover all the regions of the UK except Northern Ireland. The intention is to anticipate needs over the next 30 years and to plan accordingly. Now I fully accept that airports and aviation are crucial to the UK's long-term prosperity. I even accept that the advantages of living near Heathrow need to be balanced against the nuisance. What I can't accept is that our crowded West London skies could tolerate any significant expansion of capacity without a degree of risk and environmental impact that would outweigh the economic advantages. One of the factors behind the push for expansion is quite simply the increase in passenger traffic. Before we extrapolate current usage to predict future demand we should take a look at the actual cost of air travel. In 1972/73 a Student Nurse at a London teaching hospital earned £946.93 a year. After qualification this leaped to a magnificent £1149.91. (Figures from Mrs. Pound's old P60s). A return air journey from Heathrow to Toronto cost £300.00. Today nurses' pay has increased almost twenty times but you can buy a ticket for the same journey for £568.00.If air travel had increased at the same level as nurses pay then the ticket would cost over £6,000.00. Just as car travel has never ever been so cheap, it has never been so cheap to fly. But does the cost of the ticket represent the real cost of the flight? Does it represent the cost to the environment? Does it include the cost of the degradation of our quality of life? The answers have to be no. I accept that if air travel reflected the true cost then we could be back to the days of flights being for only the rich, but we have to start auditing the true costs when considering a third runway. The government's consultation period runs until the end of November, and the results will be published in a White Paper next year. You can get a copy of the paper by ringing 0845 100 5554 or downloading from the Department of Transport website at www.aviation.dft.gov.uk/consult/airconsult/index.htm This is a democratic country and your opinion matters. Your voice will be heard - but only if you speak out now! |
|
|
|
| Disclaimer | Copyright | Designed by Bassam Mahfouz. Promoted by Julian Bell, The Labour Party, Ruskin Hall, 16 Church Road, W3 8PP on behalf of Steve Pound MP |
