Boris sounds death knell to the West London Economy with Thames Airport idea

By proposing a new airport in the Thames east of London, Boris Johnson is saying that he has no interest in supporting the West London Economy, where around 100,000 jobs are dependent on Heathrow, and many business locate here to be accessible to international contacts. Heathrow may be an environmental challenge (to put it mildly - see previous posts) but it is a key driver of our local economy.

The debate around the future of Heathrow is more complex than "Expand or Close", and I hope the Davies Commission addresses these issues so that Heathrow is retained with 2 Runways, no night flights and runway alternation.  To do this Davies will have to address;

• incentivising aircraft to fly full 
• filling the unused capacity at regional airports - currently 40% unused 
• recognising that transfer passenger business (which brings little direct revenue to UK plc) will change as the new fleet of long-distance planes come on stream
• defining Heathrow's role - the majority of its passengers are leisure travellers - would some prefer to travel from their local airport?
• replacing short-haul flights with rail
• forecasting long-term demand should fossil fuel become scarce - meaning investing in a £multi-billion pipe-dream is just mad

Hounslow's residents clearly oppose expansion (72% of those surveyed) but 62% did not want a new hub built if it meant Heathrow would close.   Hounslow Council's will continue to campaign for a Better Not Bigger Heathrow.

Third Runway would kill historic opportunity to improve noise climate for Heathrow residents

A short Report  released today by HACAN claims that a third runway at Heathrow would kill off an historic opportunity to improve the noise climate for residents.  The report argues that the combination of the quieter aircraft that are coming on-stream and improved operational practices, such a steeper approaches, provide a real chance to reduce noise. But it says that chance would be lost if a new runway is built as the huge increase in the number of planes would cancel out any improvements to the noise climate.  A third runway would allow over 700,000 planes to use the airport each year, up from the current ceiling of 480,000.

The report comes out just a week before Heathrow Airport is expected to announce its favoured site for a third runway when it submits its evidence to the Airports Commission which has been set up by the Government to assess airport capacity in London and the South East (2).  The commission released its consultation on noise at the end of last week (3).

HACAN Chair John Stewart said, “There is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve the noise climate at Heathrow.  It would be snatched away if a third runway was built.”

The report highlights the fact that Heathrow is ‘in a noisy league of its own’ with 725,000 people affected by noise from the airport, that is, 28% of all people impacted by aircraft noise right across Europe.  The report also calls on the Government to introduce a more meaningful way of measuring noise.

Shadow Business Secretary Visits Independent Traders in Chiswick

It was good to meet Chuka Umunna in Chiswick this week.  He’s Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary and he takes a particular interest in the challenges facing small businesses.  Thursday was Retail Independent Day, and Chuka is leading calls to encourage consumers to shop with local independents .  Research shows that of every £1 spent locally between 50p and 70p recirculates back into the local economy. But many shopping areas, including Chiswick, are under pressure from shopping malls, big chains and internet competition. The National Campaign encourages the public to buy at least one thing from an independent shop on Independents' Day.

During his visit, we asked shoppers to sign a petition calling on the Council GLA and National Government to help maintain and protect the character of Chiswick as a historic High Road with a strong representation of independent shops and businesses.

We then visited several shops including Mortimer and Bennett in Turnham Green Terrace and Top Hat in Devonshire Road.   Chuka said "I know how strongly people in Chiswick feel about the great character of the local area. Shops like Chiswick Hardware and Mortimer & Bennett delicatessen, obviously bring great richness and variety". He said the Labour Party was determined to help small businesses and he was looking forward to a momentum building up ahead of the inaugural UK Small Business Saturday on December 7th.

Dan Mortimer, and Michael at Top Hat told me afterwards that Chuka was genuinely concerned about the challenges the independent shops in Chiswick face. Dan feels that the character of Turnham Green Terrace is changing as there are more and more estate agents, chains and charity shops coming in paying higher rents, and short stay parking is expensive. This then leads to the lower footfall that they are experiencing.

I feel that right now the biggest threat to retail shops in any town centre are changes of use to estate agents (in Chiswick’s case) or Betting Shops (in Hounslow Town Centre). The Council recently refused planning permission for a shop to become an estate agent in Turnham Green Terrace, which sent a positive signal to the retailers and I understand helped them in their rent negotiations with their landlords. However the Government's recent changes to planning law mean that permission isn't needed to change a shop into another commercial use. This could be the death knell for vibrant local streets like those in Chiswick. I urged Chuka to reverse this terrible policy brought in by Eric Pickles.

Parking is another bugbear of traders, and the traders we spoke to said that even 10 minutes free parking would make a big difference to their customers.