[HTS-members] Heathrow expansion briefing

[Roger]

You may be interested in the notes and slides from the presentation by
Heathrow personnel in the Village Hall last Friday.

 

Roger Worthington, secretary

07787556309

 

 

Notes by Rupert Sellers

 

Heathrow briefing to Taplow residents re 3rd runway expansion plans

 

A meeting was held at Taplow Village Hall at 7.30pm on 23rd October 2015.
Representing Heathrow were Tony Caccavone, Programme Director for Heathrow
Expansion and Rick Norman, Head of Noise Policy. With a relatively low
turn-out of residents (19 attendees), the speakers were happy to take
questions during their presentation, The meeting concluded just after 9pm.

 

Points discussed:

 

Following the Airports Commission report in July 2015 to select Heathrow as
the "best-placed to provide the type of capacity which is most urgently
required", the Goverment will make their decision on a 3rd runway at
Heathrow in December 2015. It is likely that the go-ahead will be given
based on 11 conditions which include:

          - Ban on night flights

          - Legally binding cap on noise levels (working with independent
aviation noise authority)

          - Provision of jobs (working with local community)

 

A few Taplow residents argued that Heathrow was the wrong location for a
major airport and that to increase capacity would put safety at further risk
and increase noise pollution in this densely populated area. The presenters
agreed that Heathrow was not in the best location ...but it was built 45
years ago. If the planning authorities could start all over again, knowing
what they know now, they probably would have built 'London airport' in the
Thames estuary. Unfortunately the situation is what it is. From a safety
perspective, they said the increase in capacity would not compromise safety
and that the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) has given its full support in
this regard. The Thames estuary airport option (supported by Boris Johnson)
was rejected in September 2014, mainly due to cost. 

 

The presenters said there are currently 76,000 people who work at and depend
on Heathrow and if an airport was created in the Thames estuary Heathrow
would have to close due to air space. They compared how Heathrow's potential
job losses could double the problems encountered with the miners' strike in
the 1980's when 30,000 jobs were lost.

 

Out of the top 300 companies in the UK, 225 of them are head-quartered
within 25 miles of Heathrow. They said that Stansted airport only runs at
50% capacity because it is inconvenient for most people. By contrast,
Heathrow is very well connected. 

 

The north west 3rd runway option was unanimous amongst the options
considered for Heathrow's expansion. By moving further west will improve the
noise performance over London. (Of course, this will have the opposite
effect for Taplow!). They said they are not going for a 4th runway in their
proposal.

 

As part of the new development, a new Terminal 6 will be built opposite
Terminal 5, and there will be new satellite buildings to the north.

 

Construction is due to begin in 2020 and the new 3rd runway will open in
2025. Terminal 6 will open in 2026. All the new terminals and trasnport
links will be complete in 2035.

 

Transport infrastructure will be improved. Crossrail will link to Terminal 4
(currently not possible to link to other terminals due to existing building
layout below ground). In a later phase, Crossrail will link to other
terminals, as well as have a new western rail link to Langley and a new
south west connection to Reading and Waterloo. HS2 will connect to either
Crossrail or Heathrow Express at Old Oak Common. In addition to improved
rail services there will be new bus/coach stations under T5 and T6.

 

There are currently 74 million passengers going through Heathrow airport
(2015). Capacity will almost double to 135 million in 2035.

 

Heathrow has invested £12 billion over the last 10 years to improve the
airport. Their ratings from passengers were at 48% and they are now at 75%
good to excellent rating.

 

Terminal 5 has been voted the best terminal in the world for 4 consecutive
years.

 

Heathrow's aim is to have fewer but larger terminals for improved passenger
experience.

 

There are currently 16-17 flight arrivals to Heathrow between 4.30am and
6am. In the new proposals they claim there will be no increase in the early
morning, but with 3 runways they can 'rotate' much more easily.

 

Heathrow is one of the safest airports in the world and is one of the best
for quality of aircraft (newest planes with best safety procedures).

 

One of the residents asked if Heathrow would increase the use of larger
aircraft (such as the A380) thus increasing capacity without the need to
increase the proportional number of flights. Their answer to this question
was that there is a need for a 'hub & spoke' scheme which is how the rail
services and post office run. Essentially this means that there is a need
for large and small aircraft in order to handle passengers efficiently.

 

There were also questions about 'Transfers' and whether these could be
reduced in order to cut down numbers through Heathrow. One-third of all
passengers are 'transfers' (ie passing traffc via Heathrow - not origin or
destination). The presenters said that transfer traffic is needed because
demand is driven by this. It's about convenience for passengers but it's
also about supporting UK airlines such as BA and Virgin. They gave the
example that more people would fly with KLM if they chose to fly via
Schiphol airport.

 

In regards to air pollution, Heathrow has cut emissions by 16% in the last 5
years - this relates more to on-the-ground traffic than actual aircraft.
Heathrow claims that the pollution figures for the area are more to do with
cars from the close by M4 motorway. They added that with increased public
transport provision, car trips to and from Heathrow will be no more in 2030
than they are now.

 

They claim that there will be at least 30% noise reduction between now and
2030 as new planes become quieter. The Airbus A380 for example is much
quieter than the Boeing 747 which will be phased out by BA in 2020.

 

Some members of the audience disputed how noise levels (decibels) have been
and will be recorded, and assurance was sought for measuring the decibel
count in the Taplow area accurately.

 

They said that they are looking at ways of reducing noise pollution at
take-off and landing by introducing steeper ascents and steeper approaches.
This subject matter related more to the landing of aircraft over the suburbs
of West London.

 

Airspace design - Electronic flight paths are being introduced and soon
every airline will have to follow the same precise path. They are looking at
various options: how they can fly existing areas more intensely, the number
of routes in some sort of pattern etc.

 

Surprisingly, the presenters told the audience that the new flight paths had
not yet been fully considered and that the Heathrow planners supposedly did
not yet have any such proposals. Whether or not this is true, this seems to
be one of the few, but very important points where there is a degree of
flexibility. They said they will listen to communities within flight path
areas and decisions on the actual routes selected can be influenced
accordingly. There is real opportunity for Taplow's collective voice to be
heard to steer flight paths away from the village.

 

There will be two public consultations - in mid 2016, and again in 2017.
Whilst it seems inevitable that the Government will agree to the 3rd runway
(in its proposed north west location), Taplow residents will be given the
opportunity to influence new flight paths/dispersion and altitude to limit
noise levels in our area.

 

This mail has been sent to you from the Hitcham and Taplow Society. If has
been sent to you in error or you do not wish to receive such communications,
please reply to secretary at taplowsociety.org.uk
<mailto:secretary at taplowsociety.org.uk>  and we will remove you.

 

 

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