Chapter One: Little Elver
Little Elver was born in a magical place on the far side of the Atlantic. The Sargasso Sea, off the coast of North America, is a calm deep place with amazing seaweed and clear blue water.
Little Elver, shaped like a leaf, drifted for 3,000 miles on the Gulf Stream all the way to the English Channel.
Then wow! He could sense fresh water and swam with all his friends and relations up the Thames past the City of London, and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of fighting his way up the specially designed fish passes at many places like Teddington Lock, kindly provided by environmentally-minded humans.
Eventually, he turned right into the River Colne, waving a cheery goodbye to his friends who continued on their way up the Thames Valley. “I hope you enjoy Reading”, shouted Little Elver, “but the chalk streams of the Chilterns are calling me.”
He came to a beautiful place, where the river meandered through Staines Moor, cattle grazing serenely along the banks, where ant hills can be seen that are hundreds of years old. Plenty of people were out and about, enjoying this oasis of tranquility.
But, suddenly the idyll was shattered and he was brought to an abrupt halt. The river disappeared into a 2km long and threatening tunnel. There were no reeds or deep pools, just a concreted channel, and he realised he was just beginning to find it a little difficult to breathe.
“Oh!”, said Little Elver. “Some thoughtless people have built an airport on top of the river. What am I going to do now?”
Chapter Two: Big Silver
Meanwhile his aunt, Big Silver, was thoroughly enjoying herself, having spent 20 years messing about in the dark and generally being an Eel in the ponds and ditches near St Albans
Recently, she had been thinking a lot about the Sargasso sea where she was born, and felt that now it was time to go back.
No-one knows exactly how Eels breed (Big Silver didn’t either, but she was looking forward to finding out!).
So she set off down the River Ver, passing St Albans Abbey and the Roman ruins that her ancestors knew.
She turned right, following the flow when she reached the Colne and swam past Rickmansworth Aquadrome, and Uxbridge. As she swam, she recalled happy childhood memories of swimming the other way all those years ago. She really appreciated the new fish pass at Denham Country Park. “Wow, that was so much easier than travelling upstream when I was a little girl”
But, when she got to Harmondsworth, she was brought to an abrupt halt. Having been enjoying languid, sunlit River, she was suddenly confronted by a stark concrete channel taking the river underground.
“Oh!”, said Big Silver. “Some thoughtless people have built an airport on top of the river that my forebears have used for generations and generations.”
***
NOT A tale by the Brothers Grimm. Just a grim tale.
In our experience, it is astonishing how few people are properly aware of the enormous environmental impact expansion of Heathrow airport will have on our region and our rivers in particular.
Most have a vague idea of the loss of some green space, perhaps some light and air pollution, additional flights, but all in the broader context of ‘normal’ infrastructure plans.
But there is nothing whatsoever normal about a third runway and its associated development, and yet far too many politicians still appear to believe this is just a standard ‘no pain, no gain’ argument, justified by the need for growth.
Put baldly, this is a brutal development on a scale unprecedented outside authoritarian China, and certainly never seen in the UK. Its environmental cost is way too high.
Our story about the eels passing through the Colne Valley is just one example of the appalling impact on rivers alone. Heathrow’s previously published scheme would have involved:
- Culverting, netting and burying sections of FIVE rivers.
- Severing ancient links between internationally important chalk streams of the Chilterns and the River Thames.
- Destroying a crucially important riparian environment that is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna.
- Reducing these ancient waterways to the status of mere drains for a gigantic airport, with its toxic run-off of anti-freeze and aviation fuel, not to mention handling of a city-sized demand for water handling and sewerage.
- A colossal extension of concreted areas, increased light pollution, worsening air quality and the loss of crucially important and long-established green space.
There’s much more, but it would be rather too depressing to list it here. The central point is that Heathrow expansion is a bridge too far, a ruthlessly commercially-driven project that takes no account of true cost to the environment of London and the South East, and its people.
We remain strongly opposed to a third runway at Heathrow. You can read more about our position on the airport , and learn how to get involved in protecting the countryside on your doorstep here.
