9th February 2010

Manchester Airport protesters join forces with Heathrow.

Campaigners against  the expansion of Manchester Airport have joined forces with a village set for destruction if Heathrow gets a third runway.A number of 200-year-old cottages on Hasty Lane in Altrincham stand to be demolished if Manchester Airport gets its way and is allowed to build a new cargo unit on the site where the cottages stand.

Peter Johnson one of the residents who stands to lose  his home, together with friends and supporters, held a tea party with Heathrow's Sipson village via video link on Sunday.

Sipson is  the location near Heathrow, where properties are in danger of being demolished in order to create a third runway  at the airport. The dispute between the families living on Hasty Lane and the airport has been simmering for the past two years.

Plans have been slightly modified, after planners ruled they should leave one of the condemned cottages standing. However, the revised proposals, which means the destruction of four homes, were passed by Manchester City Council in December.

Mr Johnson, who has lived in Breeze Hill cottage for the past 18 years, is hoping to take the airport's proposals to a judicial review in a bid to stop the expansion. Backed by Stop Expansion at Manchester Airport (SEMA), he set up the tea party and said he was "twinning" the street with Sipson village to create publicity.

He said that he couldn't understand why anyone would want to knock down a beautiful cottage and replace it with an air cargo shed, and apart from anything else, it was his family's home.

He added that  his home was under threat over something that might not even be needed, taking the present airport climate into consideration.

Residents of Sipson village have been campaigning for the past three years against plans for a third runway at Heathrow. If it gets the go ahead, up to 700 homes could be demolished.

A Manchester Airport spokesman added: "The long-term forecasts for air cargo demand remain robust and our existing transit units are all occupied. "While we are aware of the sensitivities we are committed to developing in a sustainable manner and want to continue to fulfil our role as a major job creator for the city and the region."