How to take action and make your voice heard

Tell Heathrow Airport and the Government why nature must not be sacrificed for airport expansion. 

You don’t need to be an expert to respond to the consultation. Every voice matters.

Email your response to feedback@heathrowconsultation.com and copy in the Government at transportsecretary@dft.gov.uk

Explain in your email: 

• why protecting our climate, rivers and wildlife matters to you, and 
• ask the Government to reconsider Heathrow expansion.

You could include these key points in your submission:

• Climate: How can expansion be compatible with the UK’s legally binding net zero target?
• Rivers: Object to the merging, culverting and redirection of five rivers and the loss of ecological connectivity.
• Wildlife: Demand protection for eels, trout, otters and other species dependent on healthy rivers and connected habitats.
• Protected sites: Call for proper protection of the seven internationally important habitats sites that may be affected.
• Colne Valley: Highlight the loss of a third of the southern part of the Regional Park.
• Water: Ask how increased water demand could affect the wider catchment and its chalk streams.
• Nature recovery: Insist that avoiding significant biodiversity loss must be a key test of the proposal.

Use your own words and focus on the issues that matter most to you.

A third runway at Heathrow would be: 
Bad for climate. Bad for communities. Bad for wildlife.

This summer’s devastating wildfires have reminded us that climate change is already affecting people and wildlife. 

We urgently need to cut emissions, not make it harder to meet our climate commitments. 

Yet the Climate Change Committee has warned that Heathrow expansion would make meeting the UK’s climate targets impossible without significant changes to Government policy.

And the damage would go far beyond carbon emissions.

Five rivers at risk 

Heathrow expansion would involve merging, culverting or redirecting five rivers (River Colne, Wraysbury River, Colne Brook, Longford River, Duke of Northumberland's River) directly affecting at least two kilometres of waterways. 

Some stretches would be forced through dark pipes, severing ecological connections between the Chilterns and the Thames and threatening wildlife including eels, trout and otters.

Seven internationally important habitats sites threatened

The Government’s own assessment identifies seven internationally important habitat sites that may be affected. Impacts could include habitat loss, disturbance, air pollution and changes to river systems.

A third of the southern Colne Valley Regional Park lost 

Expansion would wipe out a third of the southern part of the Colne Valley Regional Park, which is a precious green space for wildlife and local communities. 

Additional water demand could also put further pressure on the wider catchment, including globally significant chalk streams.

Please take a few minutes to respond to the consultation and help ensure these environmental costs are not ignored.