Boris ‘is out of touch’ over Heathrow
Third runway campaigners say the MP should get behind expansion of airport
ANTI-Heathrow expansion MP Boris Johnson has been slammed as ‘out of touch’ with his constituents, who are not complaining about the hub airport.
The Back Heathrow campaign group claim only five people in Uxbridge and South Ruislip complained about noise levels at Heathrow Airport in 2015.
The five constituents made a total of 16 complaints last year, with the pro-Heathrow group suggesting Mr Johnson is ‘out of step with the views of most of his constituents’.
A recent Populus poll showed 61 per cent of Uxbridge and South Ruislip residents felt positively about Heathrow and seven per cent felt negatively.
Rob Heathrow Gray, Back
campaign director, said: “Boris Johnson is clearly out of touch with his constituents when he criticises Heathrow.
“As a prominent supporter of Brexit, he should be praising the UK’s largest port and mass-provider of longterm routes beyond the EU.
“Whilst any noise complaint is one too many, Mr Johnson should get behind Heathrow, which provides large numbers of jobs and business benefits in his constituency.”
The statistics were also similar for Mr Johnson’s neighbouring constituency of Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, represented by Nick Hurd MP.
Only seven of Mr Hurd’s constituents complained about noise levels in 2015, making a total of 13 complaints.
Heathrow Airport’s annual noise complaints figures also show that 47 people in the entire borough of Hillingdon, where the airport is based, objected last year, making a total of 100 complaints.
John Stewart, chairman of the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (HACAN) agrees that there is virtually no aircraft noise in Uxbridge and it would be a ‘big surprise’ if complaints came from there.
He said: “Closer to the airport, even places like Harmondsworth are not overflown, so again, we wouldn’t expect a huge number of complaints.
“What Back Heathrow is skipping is what people are concerned about in the Heathrow Villages: it is of course the loss of their homes. They’re trying to draw attention to an issue which has never been an issue in the borough.
“They should look at areas directly under the flight path – they should look at Hounslow, Richmond and Windsor.”