Council Leader calls on influential residents to oppose Heathrow expansion

5.07.55pm GMT Sun 3rd Feb 2008

• THE Leader of Richmond Council has called on the borough's most influential residents to join the fight to oppose the government's plans to expand Heathrow Airport.

The call came following a public meeting which was arranged by the Richmond Heathrow Campaign and Richmond Council and held in Duke Street Church on Friday night 18 January. Almost 500 people attended the meeting where a number of speakers from across the political spectrum were united in their opposition to the airport expansion as currently outlined by the government. A number of those present in the audience suggested that it was important to engage the borough's most powerful and influential residents in the campaign.

The meeting was chaired by the Leader of Richmond Council, Serge Lourie, who said afterwards: "This was a very good meeting with some excellent suggestions made by those present. A number of people spoke of the importance of getting everybody involved - especially the borough's more influential residents. This was a good point and I would like to follow it up by making an appeal. We are building a powerful coalition against the government's plans. They, the government, believe this is already a done deal - they could not be further from the truth. We will do everything in our power to thwart this expansion - but we need all the support we can get.

We have some very influential residents who live in Richmond upon Thames from a range of backgrounds including business, media and the City, and I would like as many of them as possible to join our campaign. The aviation industry and its allies have told us that Heathrow expansion is vital for the future economic prosperity of London. We don't accept this argument. It is only supported by one study and that was paid for by the aviation industry itself. I believe that we can stop these disastrous plans. We have a powerful coalition headed by the 2M campaign which is growing all the time. I hope now we will win even more support. If you wish to back our campaign please get in touch with my office when we will be happy to discuss with you how you can get involved."