THE priest of a west London parish which stands to be
partly demolished if a third runway were to be built at Heathrow
has spoken about his congregation's anxiety.
The Vicar of St Mary's, Harmondsworth, Canon Amatu
Christian-Iwuagwu, said that, although he did not take a position
for or against building a third runway, the Government had failed
his parishioners by delaying a final decision on the issue, and
leaving the village in limbo.
He was speaking after the Airports Commission delivered its
report on Wednesday, which recommends a new runway at Heathrow
rather than at the rival airport Gatwick.
As the Government has not committed itself to implementing the
Commission's recommendations, and the Prime Minister made a public
pledge in 2009 never to expand Heathrow, many have speculated that
the row over building a new runway will continue for years.
Canon Christian-Iwuagwu said that the uncertainty hanging over
his parish had had a terrible effect. "People have become unstable,
spiritually and psychologically. When I deal with my parishioners,
I bear that in mind," he said. "It's not a normal, ordinary parish
church. It could be described as eccentric because of the level of
anxiety."
Because some members of the congregation of St Mary's oppose the
new runway, and others support it, Canon Christian-Iwuagwu said his
position as parish priest was to uphold both sides of the argument.
"There's a lot of tension between those who are for and those who
are against, especially in the parochial church council, and after
the service in the hall."
The Department for Transport first published proposals for
expanding Heathrow in 2006, but government support was withdrawn
after the Liberal Democrat Conservative coalition took power in
2010.
In 2012, the Airports Commission was established to investigate
how to increase airport capacity, but was told not to report back
until after this year's election.
Canon Christian-Iwuagwu said that he was sure the decades-old
issue would be kicked into the long grass once more. "The main
issue for me is that the Government have not been able to come
forth and tell us the truth.
"They have allowed the agony of waiting for this report, and now
the Government is going to go through the process again. They
should come out and tell the people yes or no, and let the people
rest. That's my greatest concern - the people will go through this
agony for the next ten years, and eventually they are still going
to have to leave their properties."