Heathrow Expansion

Can someone explain to me why there's so much controversy about Heathrow getting a 3rd runway?

Pretty much all the experts agree it'd add billions to the economy and thousands upon thousands of new jobs through increased business and tourism. If the only negative is Tarquin in West London might have to get triple glazing then big * deal.

 

I like planes

 

Then you'll love my landing strip.

 

Well there's going to be a lot more of them if this goes ahead so you're in luck

 

Buys house next to the UKs largest airport.

Complains of planes

Edit: company i work for will likely win the contract to build it so gives me something to do at least

 

Because London is already congested with air traffic and this new runway will increase that tenfold. Not to mention the huge increase in pollution which will come along with it (remember, the UK signed a climate agreement to curb CO2 emissions just a few months ago).

Purely on an economic basis it's easy to see this as yet more investment in infrastructure for London and yet more shunning of the rest of the country which could do with improved transport links (whereas London doesn't really need it).

 

The main negative is the extra pollution. The environment is more important than the economy so that's probably why it's controversial.

 

How much will this add to the UK's CO2 emissions?

I don't know about the effect it'll have on the rest of England but the Scottish government has welcomed it, saying it'll help our economy too.

 

Aye the Tory MP for that area has resigned and is triggering a by-election.

 

I think that a lot of peoples houses will have to be knocked down so I don't blame them getting upset. Money always talks.

 

Not sure about it tbh but perhaps the 'billions' added to the economy was based on research pre brexit, so it might end up becoming a desolate bit of tarmac ..

 

I think it is a positive, especially at this time of economic uncertainty. The SNP struck a deal with Heathrow to ensure that Scotland benefits through various projects (I think the use of Prestwick as some sort of depot was part of it). So from an economic perspective it is a no brainer for the UK as a whole.

I dont really have any sympathy for people who live by an airport and complain about aeroplanes, and even if I did the wider country is more important. The environmental impact is really the only real objection and while I know very little about such things, I am not sure why one extra runway in one airport is all that material in the context of global environmentalism.

 

Aye don't get people who live next to airports and complain about planes, like people who buy/build a house on a flood plain and complain about flooding

 

I may be wrong here but is the direction of the runway not the problem because it will run a different way it now means previously unaffected houses now find themselves under this new flight path ? If that is the case then they do have a point and the argument 'buys house at airport then moans about noise' is redundant.

 

Did it really took them 40 years to decide about this?

 

Yip

 

Down negative man, down!

 

I would say realist