Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, approved plans for the expansion of Heathrow Airport on 29 January, greenlighting proposals for a third runway and suggesting that the plans will "kickstart economic growth" across the country.
However, there has been "huge local resistance" from Kingston residents towards the third runway says Kingston and Surbiton Green Party member, Dr Debojyoti Das.
In an exclusive interview with Kingston Nub News, the anthropology and sustainable development lecturer said: "Around 70% of the local resistance is local people opposed to the expansion of Heathrow, citing concerns about health, environmental degradation, and displacement.
"This comes out of the Heathrow expansion public consultation result that was published in 2019.
"So, there is a deep public anger which comes out because of a variety of reasons which are very much linked with health impacts, displacement, and property loss."
Dr Das explained that the resistance is also "linked with questions of environmental degradation, though not necessarily tangentially directly" as well as the "quality of life that people are experiencing in and around Heathrow".
He said: "I think one point that has not been touched upon by the major political parties is the question of climate justice.
"Here the impacted communities are mostly the BAME population and people that have been priced out.
"They cannot live in areas like this, and at the same time, places like the surroundings of Heathrow are experiencing a price decline.
"So, that's the major concern."
Dr Das says he is also concerned about the problem of air pollution that could come as a result of the expansion.
He said: "So, air quality around Heathrow already exceeds the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide.
"Therefore, 6.5 million people will be affected if the third runway comes into place, and they will be exposed to these gases.
"At the same time, if you look at the displacement and property loss, it is estimated that around 783 homes will be lost and 2,000 people will be displaced from areas like Skipson and Wandsworth, and other neighbouring towns and property values are going to go down by five per cent.
"So, there is a cumulative impact. But if you look at the benefits of having a third runway, they are minimal because the airport is used currently to have air traffic which goes to North America and other parts of the US.
"So, it's a kind of transit airport and the benefit would definitely go to the Heathrow corporation, but not necessarily to the local people."
Dr Das adds that another problem is traffic congestion, which is going to increase manifold.
He said, "So, there is an estimate that there will be an increase of 40% increase in traffic, which will affect the quality of life and increase congestion.
"If you look at the environmental degradation that the third runway will have, it will lead to the destruction of the green belt."
He explained that the expansion could result in a loss of around 700 hectares of green belt land and the local biodiversity loss.
Dr Das said: "If we think about our borough in Kingston, our Hogsmill River will be affected and species like the European eel and the brown trout could face extinction or become threatened.
"They're already very threatened because of the polluted water that we have due to the Thames water leak."
Dr Das's final concern is about a loss of community cohesion which he thinks is "central" towards the debate.
He said: "We are not only looking at the economic, social, and environmental impact but also the loss that people will experience, not being able to live peacefully in the surrounding suburbs of Heathrow.
"In its manifesto last year, the Green Party had actually outlined very clearly that we should have a frequent flyer levy and that goes in tandem with achieving the net zero targets, which we had put for 2030, but our political parties have pushed for 2040 and 2050.
"So, I think it's important that we underscore this idea and that we need to think about green energy transition.
"The creation of the third runway is actually going against that pledge; we cannot just think in terms of economic growth.
"And if there is a pledge for economic growth by the Labour government, it should be equitable in the sense that the northern part of the country is quite economically backward and poor.
"The Labour government came with this whole manifesto of levelling up. So, where is the levelling up taking place now?
"We are seeing the expansion of Heathrow. We are seeing the expansion of Gatwick, but we are not necessarily seeing an opening of new transport links in the north."
He added: "So, I think we need to reduce our air travel. We need to promote more rail transport and more public transport, which is not happening."
Dr Das believes that there needs to be a lot of public and collective pressure on the government against the expansion plans and the "political will to oppose this, which is already there".
He says there is "a lot of momentum" and that the Green Party is "all for public pressure".
He said: "Things should be done in consultation with the local communities living around Heathrow, which has not been done effectively by the Labour government and previous governments.
"So that has to be executed, and the grassroots voice has to be heard. And that is how I think we can make progress in this matter."
Dr Das is not the only political voice who has expressed their opposition to the expansion plans as the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and others have been critical of the plans.
Speaking on this, Dr Das said: "So, the government should take cognisance of this fact that even within their political party, people are not really interested in the third runway because it makes little economic sense."
