Heathrow is holding 25 in-person events on its third runway plans, and none is in Wandsworth, even though the council leader says he was assured there would be one.
Cllr Robert Morritt, whose council has opposed the runway in writing, wrote to Heathrow on the day its consultation opened. “I am disappointed that Wandsworth has not been included in the programme of public consultation events, despite the assurance I received that an event would be held in the borough,” he told Nigel Milton, Heathrow’s chief communications and sustainability officer.
Heathrow has not offered copies of the plans to Wandsworth’s libraries either, Morritt says. Of the 16 places where the printed documents can be read, the nearest to Putney is Castelnau Library in Barnes. The nearest event is at the Richmond Hill Hotel on Friday 27 November, nearly four miles from Putney High Street.
“Wandsworth residents should not be expected to travel outside the borough to put questions directly to Heathrow and make an informed response,” Morritt wrote.
Heathrow did not have to hold any events at all. The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 removed the legal requirement to consult before applying, but Heathrow says it is consulting anyway because it sees value in hearing views before it applies. The events run from tomorrow until 12 December, in 11 council areas, from Ealing and Hounslow to Windsor, Egham and Walton-on-Thames. One is in Rickmansworth, in Hertfordshire, about 17 miles from Putney, because Three Rivers is one of the council areas the project would sit in. Richmond borough gets two events and four of the 16 reading points. Wandsworth gets none of either.
The consultation closes on Tuesday 22 December. The council is holding its own meeting on Heathrow’s plans on Tuesday 10 November, at All Saints Church on Putney Common.
What the plans say about Putney
Heathrow’s own figures show what is at stake here. When the wind is from the west, which Heathrow says is about 70 per cent of the time, planes land over London. Under both of Heathrow’s options for sharing out three runways, the communities at the eastern end of the southern runway would get a break from landing planes a quarter of the time.
Planes landing on the southern runway approach over Putney, according to the Putney Society, which told MPs last month that north Putney’s break from them would shrink to a quarter of the day. It has half the day now, the Society says. Heathrow published its tables last week. The Society’s reading of them: “In total, we would have respite for only a quarter of the time, exactly as the Putney Society had feared.”
Putney would hear Heathrow’s planes for more of the day. Heathrow is not coming to hear Putney.
We read Heathrow’s consultation documents so you don’t have to.
Members can read how many more flights Heathrow wants before any new runway opens, and how many the Putney Society thinks would fly over Putney. They also get what would change for night flights, and what Wandsworth’s leader has now asked Heathrow to do.
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What members get from this story
- How many more flights Heathrow wants before any new runway, and how many could fly over Putney
- What would change for night flights, and how early the first planes would land
- What Wandsworth’s leader has now asked Heathrow to do
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How to have your say
The consultation closes on Tuesday 22 December.
- The council’s meeting: Tuesday 10 November, 6.30pm to 8pm, All Saints Church, Putney Common, SW15 1HL. Free, with a panel of experts; book a place.
- The nearest Heathrow events: Richmond Hill Hotel, TW10 6RW, on Friday 27 November; DoubleTree Ealing, W5 3HN, on Tuesday 24 November; and Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, TW2 7BA, on Tuesday 1 December. All run from 2pm to 7pm. Heathrow lists all 25, so you can choose a date that suits.
- Online: Heathrow’s webinar on noise is on Thursday 19 November, 12pm to 1pm. Overview sessions run on Monday 9 November at 6.30pm and Thursday 10 December at 12pm.
- The printed plans: Castelnau Library, 75 Castelnau, SW13 9RT.
- Respond: online, by email to expansionconsultation@heathrow.com, by freephone on 0800 307 7996, or by post to FREEPOST EXPANSION CONSULTATION.
