Statement on Heathrow proposals

Statement about Heathrow expansion proposals following the RBG Board Meeting on 4 June 2009

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a World Heritage Site and the world’s leading plant and fungal diversity science institution. It is also an important public amenity visited by over a million people each year. The public perceive the tranquillity of the Gardens as an important benefit to city-dwellers.

Aircraft noise is a fact of life for regular visitors and those who work at Kew. Many visitors cite it as a disappointing element of their visit. The prospect of more aircraft over-flying the Gardens in the years ahead is unwelcome.

In writing to the inquiry into Terminal 5, the Board endorsed the statement made by the previous Director of Kew in 1998. The Chair of Trustees wrote to RBG Kew’s sponsoring department, Defra, to express this view. While we understand the imperatives of expanding Heathrow Kew values the present practice of flight path alternation.

Kew is not a lobbying organisation, and will not participate in the campaign against expansion, but when asked for our views we will make it clear that we do not wish to have more flights over the Gardens and wish to retain the respite provided by flight path alternation.