Terminal Five decision is "a disaster for our area" says Darley

12.00.00am GMT Thu 22nd Nov 2001

The decision to approve the building of Heathrow Terminal Five was condemned as "a disaster for our area" by Andy Darley today.

The Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Feltham and Heston said: "No-one believed for a moment that the inquiry would find against T5, but it is still disappointing to see how little the government cares about the people who will suffer because of the development.

"Terminal Five will cause radical increases in noise, traffic chaos, air pollution and ill health - in fact, the only thing that will not rise is people's quality of life.

"The promises of strict conditions from the government mean nothing after years of broken pledges about the growth of the airport - already the T5 apologists are preparing to call for a third runway."

And he warned one likely side-effect of the decision would be residents joining the biggest environmental civil disobedience campaign ever seen in this country.

"The stage is now set for the Heathrow area to become the next great battleground between developers and eco-warriors," he said.

"BAA should remember how in similar situations law-abiding residents have been more than happy to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the tunnelers and the tree-climbers."