Slough’s MP Tan Dhesi has said he agrees with his government’s controversial backing for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government would back revived plans for the new runway at the airport just outside Slough – asking for proposals ‘by the summer’.
Labour MP Mr Dhesi said the expansion would support jobs in Slough. He said: “Heathrow I believe is the largest single-site employer in the UK with over 90,000 jobs.
“Thousands of those are my Slough constituents. So thousands of households are reliant on Heathrow for paying their bills and that’s why I think a lot of individuals are in favour of that argument.”
READ MORE: Plans for large data centre on Slough green belt submitted to council
Speaking to the BBC World Service on Tuesday, January 28, Mr Dhesi said if the runway wasn’t built, Britain could ‘fall behind our European competitors’ such as Paris, Frankfurt and Schiphol in Amsterdam.
He also said Heathrow had done ‘incredibly important’ work to reduce noise levels at the airport. And he said he had ‘listened carefully’ to the wises of Slough residents ‘while being cognisant of the need to provide forward growth within our national economy’.
But campaign groups and Windsor MP Jack Rankin have opposed expansion plans. The Berkshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England called the airport ‘a serious threat’ to communities.
Spokesperson Andy Smith said: “Increasing the flights to and from Heathrow will be a massive blight on local communities for decades to come. It will be devastating in terms of environmental impact, noise, air quality, and climate change.”
READ MORE: Poyle Road bus gate near Heathrow aimed at tackling HGVs in Colnbrook
He added: “There is no compelling economic case for airport expansion here in the south east of England.
“There are already seven runways around London – at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton – and there is absolutely no reason to build yet more. All the expansion of Heathrow will achieve is a further serious depletion of our environment.”
And Windsor MP Mr Rankin – whose constituency includes Datchet, Colnbrook and Poyle – called the proposal ‘reckless’.
He said: “It will inevitably cause extensive disruption to my constituents who use the M25 and M4 for daily commuting, which will likely have to be re-routed.
“An estimated 750 houses will be destroyed along with the Lakeside Energy from Waste power plant. This is not to mention major disruption to the surrounding villages, including Horton, Datchet, Old Windsor, Colnbrook and Poyle.”
He added that a proposals to build a third runway are a ‘sticking plaster solution to the long-running issue of airport capacity’.
Share