Heathrow expansion 'not needed'

The economic benefits of expanding Heathrow airport have been vastly exaggerated, new research will show.

The claim was made at a public meeting where hundreds of residents warned that noise levels would become intolerable in some of London's most sought-after areas.

More than 400 people crowded into a church to express their anger over government and BAA plans for a third runway.

The meeting was called by residents of Bedford Park, a suburb of Chiswick which will be directly under the new flightpath. Hampstead, Islington, Kensington and Holland Park will also be affected for the first time.

Supporters of the expansion claim the economy is dependent on a growing Heathrow. But John Stewart, chairman of Hacan ClearSkies, said his pressure group had commissioned research which proved this wrong.

He said: "The critical finding of our report, to be launched next month, is that businesses over the last 10 years have come to London in record numbers despite the state of Heathrow, and despite the fact that over the last decade other airports have expanded faster than Heathrow.

"Businesses are saying they will relocate to London for reasons other than Heathrow - reasons like low taxes, the City and Docklands being a thriving financial centre, and, ironically, the overall quality of life that BAA has done so much to try and diminish."

Barbara Reid, who leads Hounslow council's opposition to Terminal 3, warned that Bedford Park would be plagued by planes overhead every 30 seconds. In the west of the borough, schools already operate "stop-start education" as teachers pause for plane noise.

Ms Reid was due to meet aviation minister Jim Fitzpatrick today.

The public consultation closes on 27 February.