April 2009 Volume 14 Number 4

Let the public voice be heard

The proposed expansion of Heathrow and Stansted airports has made the environment an issue for people who had never been moved to protest before. These are not 'Swampy' figures or serial NIMBYs, but people who believe they have the right to live in a clean, safe and peaceful environment, something that most of us - mistakenly - take for granted. In the case of the village of Sipson, near Heathrow, the proposed expansion will see a whole community destroyed. People are truly fearful for their futures and devastated by the prospect of having to leave family homes.

My description may sound emotive. But for those impacted by airport growth in the south east, the great realisation that the environment is about people's lives, just as much as it is about the planet, and that the two things cannot be disconnected, has become almost unbearably tangible.

The fact that this decision is unpopular politically and goes against Government commitments to reduce carbon dioxide, must be galling for those affected directly. However, it also suggests that there is some room for manoeuvre and that David may yet come to slay this particular Goliath. With many ministers uncomfortable about the decision, and the public and media expressing deep hostility to the proposals and the way in which they have been handled, Heathrow could well become the counterpart of the poll tax for New Labour. And with the two other main political parties promising to abandon the expansion of Heathrow should they come to power, a General Election could make the proposals history.

What we all need to understand is that the benefits of living in an unpolluted, clean and safe environment is something to be cherished and defended. With new planning laws likely to make it much easier for large scale planning proposals to be pushed through, it is unlikely that the blighting of the environment in the name of 'progress' will stop at Heathrow and Stansted. If there is any good to come from the current economic downturn, I think it may be the opportunity to slow down and take a look at the way we live and decide what is really important to us. In the 'time is money' era, convenience and speed were king, at the expense of almost everything else. Now is the time to take stock. If we value clean, unpolluted air over that which shortens lives, bird song over aircraft and traffic noise, and green open space over concrete, we must make our leaders aware that this is what we prize above all else and we will move heaven and earth to defend it.

Erika Yarrow, Editor, WEM (The Environment Magazine) wemeditor@ciwem.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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