Ealing does not need Heathrow to be expanded

Howard Davies's Airports Commission recently delivered a massive blow to residents in Ealing and West London, when it gave the go ahead to expand Heathrow.

Only the Liberal Democrats have been resolutely against expanding Heathrow, locally, regionally and nationally, as we see our quality of life worsening if there is an increase in air traffic. The additional air and noise pollution will make our lives worse.

I recall visiting a school in Hounslow where the pupils could not play outside due to the planes that there already are. Anymore and we will be causing problems for not just how our children can be educated but their enjoyment of their time at school.

Time at school should be fun and a chance to socialise whilst learning, not avoiding the noise of large planes going over head.

Some residents have mentioned the proposed cap on night flights but I think we know that any expansion will lead to an increased number of people in Acton and Chiswick suffering from flight noise in the short term, to a u-turn and more night flights.

I am also very cynical about whether the airline industry will fund triple glazing or investing in planes that will be much quieter and much more fuel efficient.

By encouraging flights without altering the tax system we are missing the point. We need to both invest in more environmentally friendly methods of transport whilst ensuring that more polluting methods of transport such as airlines pay the correct taxes to pay for the increased environmental damage they cause.

Both the Tories and the Labour parties have said they will accept the commission’s report which was published after the general election to avoid embarrassment to them. Sadly only the Liberal Democrats will be standing up to fight for the residents of Ealing.

I fear that future generations of our children will suffer for the short term greed of our country.

An expanded Heathrow will mean an unacceptable level of noise and air pollution

When it was announced that the Davies Commission will report its findings after the recent General Election it sounded like an excuse to allow a new government to implement change without much legitimacy.

As it currently stands, of the main parties, only the Liberal Democrats are against expanding Heathrow. This is at a local, a regional and a national level.

We believe that an expanded Heathow would bring an unacceptable level of noise and air pollution to Ealing.

Myself seven years ago at Downing Street

The Liberal Democrats in government have been pioneers of investing in increasing more sustainable methods of travel like HS2 and Crossrail. We believe that Councils and the government should do more to encourage cycling.

The Davies Commission is about to make recommendations into expanding air capacity in London and a Conservative Government (or Labour if they had got in) will sadly be inclined to support this proposal.

I suspect that the Conservatives will press ahead with Heathrow expansion.

We hear constantly about triple glazing and quieter planes but we have seen more flights in total and more night flights. The cost of triple glazing millions of properties would not be feasible and the airlines will do anything to avoid this.

We need to think more about the health of our children. The schools I visited in Hounslow had children kept inside due to noise from the planes flying frequently overhead.

Air pollution does not have regard to borough boundaries and so Heathrow generated air pollution will harm us all in London.

That is why retaining Heathrow and not expanding it, is the only option for Ealing and West London.

We need to gather ourselves to stop the government from expanding Heathrow. The health of children in Ealing depends on it.