GOVERNMENT MAY BE HEADING FOR BIG BANG CONSULTATION ON HEATHROW

8.05.00am GMT Mon 27th Feb 2006

Local residents have been warned that the government may be heading for a complex consultation exercise on Heathrow combining mixed mode ( runway alternation), terminal six and the related issue of a third runway.

Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond Park, met with Karen Buck, the Aviation Minister, today (Monday) as part of a regular series of meetings on the airport.

Speaking after the meeting Susan Kramer said:

We could be heading for a big bang consultation on Heathrow in the early spring or summer.

I want to ensure that the government does not make this so complex that people do not understand all its implications.

Mixed mode currently gives us periods of peace from aircraft noise and I have been saying for sometime that any change could significantly reduce this respite from overhead flights.

Now we may face a consultation on a series of issues which are all important in their own right.

I also want to ensure that we do not see a consultation that drifts into the school holidays when many people are away.

The current Minister is due to leave soon and I hope we get someone who has the same openness as Karen Buck. I hope her departure does not indicate a less transparent style. I would like to pay tribute to Karen and the way she has handled this issue.