Noise from Heathrow

SIR – I wonder if the Prime Minister and the Transport Secretary think that spending “up to” £2.6billion on soundproofing the houses of those who live under the Heathrow flight path will do the trick (report, June 6).

What happens if you want to open your windows in hot weather, or to let out household toxins – as the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, recently advocated? What about when you are outside in your garden or walking around the neighbourhood?

Where I live, the planes fly over at 2,500ft every 90 seconds. At the moment we are permitted “respite” for half the day, but this will shrink to less than a third if expansion goes ahead.

Elizabeth Balsom London SW15

SIR – In 2003, Tony Blair’s government put forward a scheme to build a new Heathrow-sized airport near Rugby, in Warwickshire. It was rapidly rejected, but was actually a very good idea.

It was on level land bang in the centre of the country, with excellent connections, being adjacent to the M1 and M6 with the West Coast rail line running right through it.

Had it been approved, it could have been built by now, and Heathrow expansion would not be on the agenda.

Paul Blundell Daventry, Northamptonshire