Heathrow expansion

[whydoihavetowork]

I know this is a big shiny investment designed to wow business etc but it's yet another example of a London centric government doing nothing for levelling up. Cancel HS2 and expand Heathrow, brilliant. Plus a new rail line in to support the tech corridor again predominantly south and money for Luton and Gatwick airports too. Whatever your thoughts were on HS2 these policies are so southern based it's actually beyond a joke.

Well at least they are helping Man U get a new stadium and reopening an old airport.

Heathrow extension is necessary & overdue. Great idea
Individuals shouldn’t be allowed to object to a national infrastructure that’s beneficial
London is the economic beating heart of the uk, it generates huge amount for uk. The rest of the uk is much poorer and inactive

I’m not sure Heathrow needs expansion, business travel is still down, holiday makers tend to use the other airports due to price. Climate change is a big problem. A lot of the airlines still aren’t running the flights they had 6 years ago. The roads around Heathrow are hugely congested so infrastructure needs to be addressed as well.

I understand that I will get loads of planes overhead - atm I only get them the odd evening, taking off (think it is to do with wind direction). Having huge jets fly overhead at a relatively low height is not OK. The noise is awful. I'm with Siddiq on this one.

Yes that's the point 🤦🏻‍♀️

Terrible idea expanding Heathrow, more noise pollution for hundreds of thousands of people.

This is just Rachel Reeves trying to save her arse. It’s not going to happen.

We need investment in our flood defences. The Barrier won’t be enough in the near future.

But no, instead of something useful they have gone the lazy, environmentally damaging option.

Clearly this government do not give a damn about the environment.

It will be another massively overspent project delivering a dubious benefit and pouring vast oceans of concrete in an area already prone to flooding and wildlife poverty. Oh and god the traffic nightmares and noise pollution because we all know the won’t really improve the network enough, and I don’t believe for a minute that all the planes will be upgraded and quieter like they said they would last time they consulted on this. I call bs.

It is a shitty idea from people who won’t have to live nearby in the urban hellhole that is west of London.

I live - little further up the Thames Valley and I’m really really upset about it.

What about the demolition of homes and a school to make way for the new runway? Dreadful.

And the grade 1 listed barn 😭

And about the people.

Awful for the people in the villages and the history

People are going to be really happy with bans on petrol/diesel cars and gas boilers after this.

Not.

Don’t get me started on the ULEZ charge around the airport…

It won’t happen. They’ve been banging on about it for decades. They can’t manage the flights from two runways as it is. It’s a dreadful airport to fly from (I worked there for 20 years, I avoid it like the plague now).

I'm horrified by this. We do not need to expand a poorly situated airport by demolishing the best part of two villages and putting extra swathes of west London under a flight path. Seriously disappointed by the actions of a Government that's beginning to look very similar to the last one.

Exactly. Talk about missing the point!!!
Hey but at least we get a football stadium somewhere "up north"

I got the bus to Hatton Cross yesterday, to take the tube 2 stops to terminal 5 (bus only goes to terminals 2 and 3) I waited half an hour for a tube. People were panicking - there was clearly a problem. We were well and truly stuck. But how else to get there? Parking is so expensive. So is the drop off charge. Public transport is only OK when it is working. I rarely fly but when I do, getting to the airport is my biggest angst of the whole trip. And I don't even live that far away.

It is a shitty idea from people who won’t have to live nearby in the urban hellhole that is west of London.

Say what you will about the Heathrow expansion but west London is not exactly home to vast swaths of people without options available to them. You might think it’s hellish but if they were to sell up, those west London residents would have plenty of other places they could move to given the value of their existing homes.

But they would be selling to other people who would be subject to the noise. And it makes no sense to inflict the noise and pollution on any community, especially not the hundreds of thousands of people affected here.

And many people in the area have to rent - they don't have property to sell. The idea that it's only Londoners, who cares, is just dispiriting. No one should have huge jumbo jets overhead. We can't change past decisions on airport location but we can certainly get it right now.

Labour won't be happy until every county surrounding London is under concrete

It needs to happen and London growth should be supported as the priority. The UK minus London is technically a third world economy.

Over and over there are schemes and investments to get people and businesses to push beyond the SE.
But they don’t really work as not enough people want to be anywhere else.
Trying to move money out of the SE is like trying to push water uphill with a rake imo.

Im not sure you understand the point, London keeps the rest of the country running, it is a net contributor to the rest of the country, always has been

If it falls, the UK is up shit street (even more than it already is)

Having said that, there are parts of the SE which are in utter deprivation and no one gives a toss about that.

@soupyspoon I totally understand the point and have worked on numerous regeneration projects throughout my career. Yes London's economy is vital but that doesn't mean you can just leave everything else to rot.

The economic argument is a nonsense. The runway(s) will increase capacity for LHR to operate as a HUB. This means the extra passengers are in transit through LHR. They're not visiting UK, just passing through inside the airport. So Londoners (and Surrey and Berkshire residents) would bear the brunt of the impact for little or no benefit.

Anyway it will never happen. The only winners at this point are the consultants.