As the evenings start to draw in, we’re reflecting on a busy summer at HCEB. Below is a short summary of some of the things we have been up to:

Increasing the depth and diversity of the responses to the June consultation

Earlier this year, we published our 2019 objectives. One of those objectives was to increase the depth and diversity of the responses to Heathrow’s Airport Expansion Consultation. Throughout the consultation period, we attended events to raise awareness of the consultation and encouraged communities have their voice heard through responding to it. Events we attended included the Mela festival in Southall, Colnfest, the Hounslow Chamber of Commerce Summer Celebration, Hillingdon4Business Drop in Networking and the Indian Independence Celebration in Greenford. We also met with our Strategic Advisory Group for Communities and Stakeholders to listen to their views on the consultation and reviewed the published consultations from the local authorities who sit on our Strategic Advisory Group for Elected Members.

In July we worked with the Beck Theatre in Hayes to hold a celebration of culture event which included music, family performances, face painting and balloon modelling. It was a fantastic day and we heard from a lot of new voices about their views on Heathrow Airport and the consultation. We have worked with a Slough based company, Resource Productions to develop a short video of the day. Click here to watch the video.

Throughout the consultation period, we worked with independent experts to conduct a large amount of research. This included holding focus groups & in-depth interviews with local residents and running surveys both in person and on-line; to help us build a solid foundation of evidence for the HCEB response to the consultation. We submitted our final response to Heathrow in September and will be publishing a summary of that shortly.

Drop-ins with the HCEB Residents Adviser

We have run a program of drop in sessions with Nick, our Residents Adviser, in the communities most impacted by the expansion project like West Drayton, Yiewsley, Harmondsworh, Colnbrook, Stanwell Moor and Richings Park. These provided an opportunity for residents to discuss any concerns or raise queries they have about Heathrow’s expansion proposals and/or the day-to-day operations of the airport.

If you are a local resident and would like to speak to Nick about any issues concerning Heathrow and its operations, please contact him by emailing nicholasward@hceb.org.uk or by calling on 020 3488 0290

Learning from Vienna Dialogue Forum

In late July we met the Vienna Dialogue forum to understand how they function and what work they have done to improve the relationship amongst the airport and its communities, both in relation to day-to-day operations and the planning for a third runway. This has been achieved through a mediation model and establishing an agreed set of engagement principles.

What the Vienna Dialogue Forum has achieved since it started almost 20 years ago is really impressive and we’ve been keen to learn about their journey. That’s why we invited them over to talk to a group of key stakeholders and community members earlier this month. This is part of an ongoing program to make sure that we are learning from best practice examples in the UK and around the world.

The next phase for HCEB

One of the key themes coming out of all our work in the last 18 months has been the issue of trust. In particular, this has been the most prominent theme in the findings of the independent experts we have been working with over the summer.

In early October, we held an event at Hounslow House to start a dialogue amongst Heathrow Airport and the stakeholders & communities that it impacts about how parties could work together to improve trust and reduce conflict. We also explored what HCEB’s role could be in facilitating this. Heathrow Airport’s CEO, John Holland-Kaye, and his team attended and took part in the discussions.

The Directors of the Vienna Dialog Forum joined us to share their experiences and give practical advice about their experiences of community engagement. We also heard from Dr Katy Radford MBE from Belfast’s Institute for Conflict Research on the art of building trust. Part of the discussion focussed on what principles can be adopted from the Vienna type approach might be appropriate for an Independent Scrutiny Panel and for the oversight of the Community Compensation Fund.

The event has helped shape our future plans about how best we can deliver our underlying purpose which is to act as a bridge between Heathrow and the stakeholders and communities that it impacts. The Board is currently considering proposals about our future drawing on this event, the findings from our work over the summer, and the last 18 months of activity that we have undertaken. We will be publishing our Future Plans document by early December.

Sustainable communities project – digital participation platform

As part of our sustainable communities project, we are developing a digital participation platform and will be asking people to put forward their ideas about how Heathrow could make improvements that benefit the local community. The platform will help us produce an evidence base that will inform discussions with Heathrow by highlighting genuine community concerns and ideas regarding airport operations and any future development. The platform will also act as a hub for the community to find out about and keep up to date with the proposed Heathrow expansion plans with HCEB acting as the “bridge” between the two groups.

Interview with John Holland-Kaye

Young people are often left out of the debate about Heathrow today and in the future. So, in July, we invited two student ambassadors Ilona Bushell and Alisa Anwar from Campus Industries to interview John Holland Kaye. Their interview questions covered the impact of expansion, apprenticeships and jobs, sustainability and the environment. IIona and Alisa have wrote their own articles from the interview which we have published on our website here.

For information:

Appeal court hearings

The appeal hearings against the High Court’s ruling on the construction of the third runway began on 17 October. The hearings ran for six days, concluding Friday 25 October. We understand a decision is expected in December.

Getting in touch with the HCEB

email: info@hceb.org.uk

Twitter:@HEATHROWCEB

Phone: 02034 880290

October Update