Greg Hands has expressed disappointment at his government’s decision to back a third runway at Heathrow Airport .
The Chelsea and Fulham MP reiterated his opposition to the expansion of the west London airport following the decision on October 25 .
He said: “I know that this announcement will come as a disappointment to many of my constituents in Chelsea & Fulham, as well as to those I campaigned with when I represented Hammersmith as its MP.”
Writing on his blog he said he raised his constituents’ concerns on the proposed expansion of Heathrow over more than a decade as an MP, and as a long-term resident of Fulham “knows all too well that both Chelsea and Fulham suffer from the direct impact of noise from aircraft flying overhead”.
But he accepted the government was placed in a tough position and said there was good news for his constituents. He said: “I fully acknowledge the need to increase airport capacity in the South East of England.
“There is some good news in the announcement, especially for my constituents – that the Government has recommended a six-and-a-half hour ban on scheduled night flights, something for which I have been campaigning for more than a decade. The prospective and effective end of night flights does sweeten the overall blow a little.
“I shall continue representing the concerns of my constituents in Chelsea & Fulham in opposing the third runway at Heathrow . This Heathrow expansion will have a negative impact on Chelsea & Fulham through increased aircraft noise and other degradations to our quality of life.”
Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter also hit out at the government decision. He said: “It is disgraceful that the Government have given their support to the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. This decision is a U-turn by the Prime Minister, and a betrayal of David Cameron’s promise ‘no ifs, no buts, no third runway’.”
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