'Heathrow runway change will make our village unliveable'

"The noise is loud and very distinct. It is the sound of jet engines. Longford could be a village anywhere in the country - that is until you hear the noise. It is in the shadow of Heathrow and is the nearest village to the west London airport. Now its residents say it is under threat. Their worries are twofold. Long term, if the third runway goes ahead the village would be destroyed."

"But Longford's residents say their village will become uninhabitable even before then if changes are made to the airport's runways. Something called the Cranford agreement has previously stopped aircraft taking off to the east from the northern runway, over the village of Cranford. But that deal was scrapped and many in nearby villages fear the added pollution and noise created by take-offs in the future."

Longford is a small village adjacent to Heathrow that experiences loud jet-engine noise and is at risk from airport changes. Residents fear that eastern alternation and the scrapping of the Cranford agreement will bring takeoffs directly over Longford, increasing noise and air pollution. Long-term plans for a third runway could destroy the village. Trevor Gordon and other locals warn of multiple aircraft queues, intolerable noise, breathing difficulties, and community decline, with pubs and amenities closing. The 1952 Cranford agreement had prevented eastward takeoffs from the northern runway; its removal has heightened local concern about future flight paths and pollution.

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