Chairman's Blog - August 2019
FURTHER HEATHROW CONSULTATION
Heathrow Airport has now published further proposals for its expansion with a third runway. This is due to open in 2026.
It is fair to say that the effect on the whole area will be massive, with the M25 diverted under the new runway. There will be two extra car parks, one for 24,000 vehicles built on existing playing fields, and another for 22,000. The total parking will increase to 53,000. This is despite their claim that there will be no increase in airport related traffic. 761 homes will be demolished. It will cost 14 billion pounds, but this is only for the first phase of expansion. It is believed that the end cost will be 30 billion. The intention is to increase the yearly numbers of flights to 756,000.
There is a local consultation being held in Wimbledon on Saturday 17 August from 10 am to 4 pm. This is at Everyday Church, 30 Queen’s Road, SW19 8LR. The consultation documents are also at Merton Civic Centre or at heathrowconsultation.com. The deadline for replying is midnight on 13 September. You can reply by e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Of particular interest to this area will be the direction of flights, night flights, noise, and air quality and climate change.
While the demand for passenger and freight flights continues to grow every year, so does the need for a severe reduction in carbon emissions, to which the Government is committed. I will only express the hope that the Government and Parliament will scrutinize these proposals most carefully.
SUMMER PARTY
Some 60 of our volunteers enjoyed a summer party at The Pavilion on the middle Saturday of Wimbledon, in glorious weather. This was held as a thank you for all the hard work and dedication of our Area Co-Ordinators and Road Stewards, the Premises Management Group, and the Committee.
We took the opportunity to ask Pamela Robinson’s nephew, Roger and his wife Donna, to unveil a plaque on the tree we planted in memory of Pamela, who sadly died last year. Pamela was a long serving and much - loved member of the Committee, as well as being a talented artist who designed the front cover of The Guide.
Roger kindly gave the Association another watercolour that Pamela had made of Raynes Park station, and this will hang in the Pavilion. You can see in this edition a photo of Roger by the tree holding this painting. The tree is a flowering hawthorn, with pink and white stems in the spring, and berries loved by the birds in the autumn. It has been planted so that it can be seen from the entrance at the end of the path.
THE GUIDE
The Guide has been published ever since 1926, and for many years has been brought to you every month. It is still highly valued by our members.
The Committee has decided that it would be better to have a copy of the Guide for December and January that covers both Christmas and the New Year. This is partly because of the difficulty of meeting deadlines for printing in the run up to Christmas, but also since it is a period of the year when everyone takes a break from day to day life.
The intention is to have a larger edition coming out in December to cover December and January, with the hope of increasing advertisement income over the Christmas and New Year period.
The effect would be that in future we will produce 11 editions of the Guide in all.
We will ensure that our existing loyal advertisers are not prejudiced in any way.
John Elvidge
