Airport rail links would destroy green belt
21st March 2018 – Crawley Observer
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Should we be looking to speed more and more UK citizens out of the UK on low cost leisure breaks when our coastal regions are crying out for tourism and income and aviation is one of the most pollutants when it comes to carbon emissions and climate change?
The UK has some of the most picturesque landscape of this world and the south east has an abundance of heritage and areas of outstanding natural beauty so why should be seeking to blight more of the south east with a high speed rail link between Gatwick and Heathrow as detailed in your article by Joshua Powling [Crawley Observer – March 14, page-9]
Any new railway line is to be welcomed as it is hoped that it will remove many vehicles from our much congested road network, but the Airports Commission was set up by the Government to investigate aviation growth.
It looked at a rail link between Gatwick and Heathrow which was termed ‘Heathwick’, something favoured by the now Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
The Commission found that the airlines did not welcome it due to point to point air travel which did not call for the transfer of passengers betriveen Heathrow and Gatwick.
The article by Joshua Powling needs to be viewed through tinted glasses as are we to encourage the destruction of green belt and countryside to boost the export of UK citizens overseas on low cost leisure travel that brings little into the UK pursel The amount of countryside, houses and businesses that would have to be destroyed by such a link would in our view be criminal.
Sussex, Surrey and Kent are already facing their current challenges of endeavouring to find land to build affordable houses so to suggest such a line can only be an added complication for more anti-campaigns to stop such madness.
Whilst we welcome the Government’s recent announcement to invest in the Croydon Windmill section of the Brighton Main Line railway, we have to hope that this will assist our coastal regions that are crying out of economic boosts through tourism.
We must not allow Gatwick to swallow up the freed up capacity these improvements will give to the Brighton Line but allow it to boost travel to our coastal regions and countryside and so help
the UK purse rather than encouraging mass export of citizens and in so doing reduce the impact aviation has on climate change.
Sally Pavey
Chair of CAGNE
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