Heathrow: Address spare capacity before building more runways - 4 borough letter in today's Evening Standard

Sir

BAA continue to put their efforts into proving that Heathrow is past its sell by date and incapable of serving the needs of the UK economy without further expansion.

Of course the company has a powerful vested interest in crowding yet more flights into their one London airport.

But don't let's confuse this with the quite separate issue of what kind of airport capacity and connectivity the UK economy actually needs.

History shows that Heathrow's demand for growth is insatiable. If BAA get their way over a third runway, how long before they come back for a fourth or a fifth?

Just how incessant does the noise have to be over south and west London and for how many more years do local communities have to suffer air pollution levels that are not tolerated in the rest of Europe before BAA  concede that its prized possession is simply in the wrong place?

As the Coalition Government prepares to consult on ways of addressing capacity that do not involve heaping yet more noise misery on Londoners, it's worth putting BAA's claims under the microscope.

Business passengers account for less than a third of those flying in and out of Heathrow. And while we hear much about the need to serve the emerging markets in the Far East it's still far too tempting for the airport to simply add more flights to the same money-making destinations - New York for example still has 50 flights a day even though the aircraft fly with a quarter of the seats empty.

Too often we are led to believe BAA's interests are synonymous with those of the wider UK economy. But other airports are just as keen and able to serve those key markets in the Far East - not least Gatwick which has around 25 per cent unused capacity on its single runway.

There's plenty of scope at Heathrow for more business traffic and more services to the Far East - but only if BAA are prepared to tackle levels of under-occupancy of up to 46 per cent on some popular routes - and to start prioritising new routes to new markets at the expense of some of the lucrative old favourites.

Yours

The Leaders of Wandsworth, Hounslow, Richmond and Hillingdon Councils

 

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee - an unexpected surprise

A week after the "main" weekend I attended yet another celebration, the Isleworth Thursday club at the Public Hall. Almost 100 older residents enjoying old time singing, tea and a piece of jubilee cake, under strings of bunting and waving union jacks. All familiar sights in the Jubilee celebrations that took place across Hounslow in the last few weeks.

As Hounslow's cabinet lead for Olympic Games preparation, I had the Jubilee added to my portfolio at some point during the last year, so attended as many events as I could. I come from solid Republican stock (Quakers were imprisoned for refusing to doff their caps to the king) so might otherwise have considered going away for the four-day break. However by staying locally I had the privilege of being part of an amazing carnival of community celebration and unity. We decided at an early stage that during this "Summer of Celebration" any street parties would have the license costs of road closures waived, and we set aside Council funds so that community and residents groups could have up to £500 to spend on a local celebratio - 43 groups took advantage.



My weekend included; the Big Lunch in the Butts and street parties in Old Isleworth, Enfield Road, Avenue Road and Brook Road South in Brentford, two more community events in Isleworth, the 2-day extravaganza in Brentford High Street, the Friends of Faith festival in Hounslow and a street show in Hounslow High Street. I danced till late to a live 60s band at Isleworth Working Mens Club and witnessed the Mayor lighting the Jubilee beacon in Lampton Park. I slipped home occasionally and saw the finale of the river pageant too.

The surprises? I hadn't expected food to be such a defining element of the Jubilee - I relived old tastes from my childhood such as candyfloss, chocolate-covered meringues in silver wrapping and lots of moist sponge cakes always made with real butter. And then there was the most amazing curry made by a chef who works at a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in Mayfair, but this time cooking for his neighbours, many of whom had never met each other before. And finally the edible bunting - just silly.

But for me, the delightful and unexpected surprise of the whole Diamond Jubilee celebration, locally and nationally, was that at every event people were determined to have a good time, to get to know neighbours they had previously not connected with, and to admire the Queen for her positive role as a uniting figure in this country. At each of these events was a feeling that we were celebrating Britain together - whether our background is British, Commonwealth or other. And whilst we ate traditional English/British food and sang some old songs, it wasn't exclusive or excluding. In a diverse community such as the one we have in Hounslow, I am determined that the Council builds on that spirit and we will take it forward for the rest of this Jubilee year, and into the future.

PS: Here is the link to the rest of my photos of the weekend: