A third runway for Heathrow is no way to 'level up' Britain | Justine Greening

It's more than just a local issue. Expansion will stunt growth in the regions, and fly in the face of Boris Johnson's pledgeOn Thursday the high court will rule on a case brought by campaigners against the decision made by Theresa May's government to allow Heathrow to proceed with its third runway expansion. The decision to expand the airport was both environmentally and economically ill-judged. Obviously, Heathrow Airport Ltd, the company involved, wants the go ahead for its growth strategy - it's not up to a private company to balance the wider impact of that on the UK economy and people. It's the government's job to do that and it has got that balance badly wrong. The Heathrow third runway proposal significantly undermines Boris Johnson's "levelling up" strategy and it should be stopped.Of course, it's a big issue in London - it's hugely polluting to local communities, causing air pollution in areas that already breach legal limits, extra noise affecting millions of people when they step out of their homes and the obvious public safety risk from extra flights over the most densely populated part of the entire country. Even the Victorians would never have built a national hub airport in such an ill-suited location, surrounded by homes and roads making expansion complex, risky and expensive. Continue reading...