News from October 2009

Saturday, 24 Oct 2009

Public Meeting on Thursday on Latest Position on 3rd Runway

I have convened a public meeting on Thursday (29th October) at 7.30pm at Heathrow Primary School in Harmonsdworth Lane, Sipson to discuss the latest position on the 3rd Runway and the opening of the Bond Scheme by BAA. All local residents are welcome. It is always difficult to estimate how many people will turn up and the school hall is the largest hall I can find so if there is not enough room for everyone I will convene a second meeting. With the assistance of volunteers we are currently distributing a leaflet throughout the villages. Please do let your neighbours know about the meeting.

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Friday, 23 Oct 2009

Opening of Grange Park School Environmental Garden

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I joined the children and teachers from a number of our local primary schools for the opening of an environmental garden at Grange park School in Hayes. The garden, designed by a local pupil and funded by the local extended schools collaborative, will provide an ideal site for local children to learn about the environment, gardening and wildlife. I interviewed the environmentalists from Groundwork, who carried out the planting and construction of the garden, its pond and shelter. The children were kind enough to invite me to plant a fig tree in the garden.

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Tuesday, 20 Oct 2009

BAA Announces Offer to Purchase Properties Under Threat of 3rd Runway

This morning (Tuesday 20th October) BAA has written to residents under threat of the 3rd runway offering to buy properties within the area designated under its Property Market Support Bond scheme. (a copy of the letter is printed below).This offer is open to residents for the next 12 months. I have been pressing BAA for months to implement the Bond Scheme to assist residents who are trapped in unsuitable accommodation and unable to sell their properties on the open market. Two weeks ago I met representatives from BAA with Rob Fodder, an example of a local resident unable to sell his property and trapped with his growing family in overcrowded conditions. Last week I also tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament calling for action to resolve this issue.I welcome BAA’s announcement because it will help local families who are suffering from being trapped in unsuitable accommodation because they cannot sell. Over the next week I am convening a public meeting for local residents to discuss the implications of this decision. In addition over the coming weeks we will be convening via the local law centre a series of smaller seminars with lawyers to provide advice to local residents on the details of the scheme and the process from hereon. I believe that the 3rd runway will never be built but before we can kill off this runway threat once and for all we need to ensure that families affected by blight are properly protected. I will write to local residents in the villages and put all the details of these events on this website, inform Hayes FM and the local press.
Read BAA’s Letter to Residents in Heathrow Villages in full by clicking on news item.

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Sunday, 18 Oct 2009

Protecting our Local Heritage

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Earlier this year after we had witnessed the destruction of a local landmark by a developer I convened a community conference to discuss how we can protect our local heritage. At this conference a senior local planning officer, Charmian Baker, described the exercise she was undertaking to map local heritage sites in order to examine how they could best be protected. After the conference we encouraged local people to submit their views on what local buildings needed to be preserved. On Saturday I reconvened the community conference to receive a progress report from Charmian and her colleague Nairita Chakraborty. The meeting was very well attended with many local groups and residents’ associations represented. The mapping exercise has been very successful and a comprehensive list of sites already protected or proposed for protection has been produced. The Council will launch a public consultation on the list in the New Year. At the conference we also launched the setting up of a Conservation Panel for Hayes and Harlington. The panel will comprise local volunteers who will meet regularly to advise the council on how to protect our local heritage sites, including advising on planning applications, which may have an impact on local buildings of historical or architectural interest. Please contact me if you are interested in joning the panel. Protecting our local heritage requires constant vigilance and so the message from Saturday’s conference was that we are determined to fight to preserve our local environment. I interviewed Charmian and Nairita.

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Wednesday, 14 Oct 2009

Come Along to Our Local Heiritage Community Meeting on Saturday

Earlier this year many of us expressed our concerns about the loss of local heritage buildings and sites, bulldozed by developers. I convened a community conference to work with the local council’s conservation officers to map local heritage buildings and sites and to set up the appropriate protection. I am now convening a recall conference to report back on the progress so far and to set up a new conservation panel for Hayes and Harlington. The Community Conference is open to all local residents and community organisations. It takes place on 17th October at Barra Hall, Wood End Green Road, Hayes.

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We must not Drop Our Guard on the 3rd Runway

The Sunday Times reported last Sunday that BAA is not preparing to submit a planning application for a 3rd runway until after a general election. This is further evidence that the success of the campaign against the 3rd runway. Now most independent commentators believe that the 3rd runway will not go ahead. However it was already known that BAA was unable logistically to submit a planning application for another 12 to 18 months. Just as with BAA’s assurances over Terminal 5, it suspected that BAA strategy is to accept a delay but to continue lobbying for a 3rd runway when BAA’s finances are in a better position in two to three years time. That is why as the local MP I have welcomed the news reports of BAA’s planning delay but I have cautioned that anti runway campaigners must not drop their guard. After all their lies over Terminal 5 none of us trust BAA an inch and although I welcome BAA’s delay in submitting a 3rd runway planning application as another step in killing off the runway threat, we must not drop our guard. We need to continue to ensure that through our legal challenge, our community campaigning and by building a massive majority in Parliament against the runway this threat is killed off once and for all.

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Thursday, 01 Oct 2009

BAA Meeting on 3rd Runway Blight Protection

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I met with BAA today (Thursday) to press for action from the company to protect my constituents from the blight over their homes caused by the threat of the 3rd runway proposal. BAA and the Government gave an undertaking when a 3rd runway was announced for Heathrow that the value of residents homes would be protected by a bond scheme. This scheme is supposed to reassure residents that if a runway went ahead their property would be bought at a protected value. The problem is that the bond scheme does not take effect until a formal planning application is submitted. This could be another year or two. In the meantime some people, who need to move home because their families are growing or because they are retiring to live elsewhere, are trapped in unsuitable often overcrowded accommodation, unable to sell their property. I took along to the BAA meeting, Mr and Mrs Fodder, a young family who are suffering a great deal because they now have a child and live in accomodation which no longer meets their needs and which they cannot sell. We have been told by BAA that the implementation of the bond scheme would be brought forward. That was months ago but we are still waiting. Today BAA was unwilling to give us a date for when the scheme will start and when families like the Fodders will be assisted. I am extremely angry at the treatment of my constituents, whose homes are blighted in ths way, and informed the BAA representatives today that I will be raising this issue with ministers and in Parliament and using every method I can to force BAA to live up to its responsibilities.

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