Does Chiswick Really Back Heathrow?
Campaign group disputes claims of local support for expansion
Back Heathrow supporters at a recent meeting
The level of support for Heathrow expansion in Chiswick has become the subject of dispute between campaign groups on opposite sides of the argument.
Back Heathrow supporters from Chiswick and surrounding areas got together last week to discuss the Heathrow consultation. They were joined by representatives from Hounslow Chamber of Commerce, who are backing plans for a third runway.
Local resident Donald MacCallum said, “A survey of Hounslow residents earlier this year showed that in Chiswick, support for the new runway outstripped opposition by 47% to 28%. We have been a silent majority for a long while, but it’s good to see that so many local people are now prepared to say that jobs and business opportunities really matter to us. We want expansion.”
Back Heathrow Executive Director, Parmjit Dhanda said, “You can have Heathrow expansion and tackle carbon emissions successfully. Local councils need to get involved in the consultation to ensure a new runway is built with strong environmental and noise safeguards in place. From independent polling, we know local residents are on our side.”
The Hounslow residents survey report prepared for Hounslow Council states that 59% of borough residents overall now support the third runway – up from 44% in 2016, with only 22% opposing it. In most areas support is over 50% and although in Chiswick this falls to 47% this is still a higher percentage than those expressing opposition to the plan.
Polling by Populus states that more people in the 12 constituencies adjacent to Heathrow support expansion than oppose it.
A spokesperson for Chiswick Against The Third Runway (CHATR), said in response to the claims, "The propaganda and lobbying power of Heathrow, and organisations funded by Heathrow, such as Back Heathrow, are deeply disturbing - having the power, as they do, to influence political decision making. Heathrow has produced a number of statistics like this which appear to give pro Heathrow results but where the sampling and statistical methods used may not be honest. CHATR continues to find huge distress and concern about Heathrow's expansion plans and the plans to introduce IPA (independent parallel approaches) over Chiswick in just three years’ time, if they get CAA approval. All this will change the character of Chiswick forever. It is simply not possible for Heathrow to expand without causing harm to a huge population both from noise and pollution. Latest estimates suggest up to 2 million people will be affected by the new flight paths - that is almost one thirtieth of the entire UK population! The disastrous scheme should be stopped and we hope the new Prime Minister has the courage to do this."
Back Heathrow claims over 100,000 supporters in west London and the Thames Valley who back Heathrow expansion.
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July 23, 2019
