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Who We Are
The Board of Trustees
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Statement about Heathrow expansion proposals following the RBG Board Meeting on 15 September 2005
“The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a World Heritage Site and the world’s leading botanical 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. New 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.
The Board endorses the statement made by the previous Director of Kew in 1998, in writing to the inquiry into Terminal 5. While we appreciate the economic and social imperatives of expanding Heathrow, we cannot support it. We especially value the present practice of flight path alternation, and the Chair of Trustees will write to our sponsoring department, Defra, to express this view.
Kew is not a lobbying organisation, and will take no part 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.”