Residents To Stage Heathrow Conference With Climate Camp


Alongside HACAN, NoTRAG, Camp for Climate Action and Greenpeace

Local residents will be holding a joint conference with the Climate Camp when some of the people who took part in last year’s Climate Camp return to Heathrow on 26th July.

The half day conference, staged by HACAN, NoTRAG (No Third Runway Action Group), the Camp for Climate Action and Greenpeace, will be an opportunity for opponents of Heathrow expansion to discuss what they will do if the Government gives the green light for expansion later this year.

This is the first time that local campaign groups have teamed up with the Climate Camp to stage an event. The conference is expected to be attended by a number of politicians including John McDonnell, the Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, Baroness Jenny Tonge, the former Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, and the Labour member of the Greater London Assembly Murad Quershi.

John Stewart, the Chair of HACAN, said, “This conference will be a visible sign to the Government that its many opponents are working closely together. People coming from different backgrounds will be sitting down together to discuss a wide range of ways of continuing to oppose expansion, from letter-writing to direct action. What unites us is an utter determination to win this battle.”

NoTRAG spokeswoman Christine Taylor, said "Last August, the Climate Camp came to Sipson and helped put the campaign to stop Heathrow expansion on the international map. A year later there is even more pressure on the Government to drop these destructive plans. Should the Government choose to ignore the growing opposition to expansion, NoTRAG will be ready to battle on to prevent the proposed devastation of the local community."

The day after the conference, on Sunday 27th, the climate campers will set off from Sipson on a journey to Kingsnorth in Kent where this year’s Climate Camp will be held from 4 – 11th August. Kingsnorth is where the Government is planning a new coal-fired power station.

July 19, 2008