Zac Goldsmith: One million will be blighted by third runway noise

Mayoral hopeful Zac Goldsmith pitched into a row with Heathrow Airport today by claiming a million Londoners will be hit by noise if a third runway goes ahead.

The Richmond Park MP was joined by Cabinet minister and Putney MP Justine Greening and Mayor Boris Johnson to unveil a map of new areas they believe would be affected.

Heathrow accused the trio of “scaremongering” and insisted it could expand while reducing the number of residents suffering from noise.

The row comes ahead of the long-awaited report by the Airports Commission which will recommend whether Heathrow or Gatwick should be expanded.

The online map claims huge swathes of west London will be blighted by noise. The affected areas include Wimbledon and Hampton Court in the south and Wembley and Camden Town in the north, extending to Crystal Palace, Bethnal Green and Dulwich.

The campaigners say 725,000 people are already affected by noise but this would probably increase to more than 1,000,000 if a third runway is built.

“Implacable opposition to Heathrow expansion stretches from the affected boroughs to the very heart of Government,” declared Mr Goldsmith ahead of the Commons launch. “And as countless hundreds of thousands of new residents are made aware of the threat they face, the campaign can only grow. The bottom line is that politically Heathrow expansion is undeliverable.”

Mr Johnson said the map would “bring home to Londoners how many more houses, schools and hospitals will be overflown if this undeliverable plan is approved”.

He added: “The Airports Commission must realise that, if it is mad enough to recommend a third runway at Heathrow, the backlash from Londoners will ensure it is never built.”

A Heathrow spokesman said: “This sort of scaremongering and misinformation is unhelpful to local residents.