Save Richmond Park

Stop Heathrow's new plans that threaten to destroy Richmond Park. Join our "Save Richmond Park" campaign.

Heathrow Airport is planning to add up to 60,000(*) new flights a year over Richmond Park, as part of an airspace modernisation plan that threatens to destroy the peace and tranquility of London’s most important nature reserve.

This is not about the third runway / expansion – which may not happen. Or about increasing the number of flights at Heathrow, which is capped by the government.  This is about moving existing arrivals and departures to overfly new areas - and some of the shortlisted options are almost certain to happen.

The Park is home to some of the capital’s rarest species and a haven for people and families seeking respite from the city.

The impact of the potential new flights over Richmond Park – up to 235 a day, one every 90 seconds at peak time (*) - would be catastrophic.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has now approved Heathrow’s short-list of new flight paths options. Heathrow will next decide which of these flight paths it wants to use. (See Step 2B Initial Options Appraisal, which is available for download here: Heathrow shortlist report )

Heathrow’s complete plans are published on the CAA’s airspace change portal at Heathrow documents

The up to 60,000 new flights over the Park threaten the thousands of rare species that live here, through harmful increases in noise and air pollution:

Birds of prey such as owls, kestrels and buzzards that use sound, and bats that use echolocation to hunt will be harmed by very loud aircraft noise, especially in the early morning and at dusk, posing a risk to their survival. (See the Civil Aviation Authority report The Effects of Aircraft Noise Pollution on Biodiversity )

Air pollution from aircraft emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) could, over time, severely damage the Park’s sensitive acid grassland and 1,200 veteran trees, which have existed for hundreds of years in an environment of very low nitrogen levels. Any decline will affect wildlife which depend on them, such as deer, rare fungi and stag beetles.

People too will suffer if increased aircraft noise is allowed to destroy the Park’s character. The 5.5 million people who visit the Park each year value its calming effect on their wellbeing and mental health. This was highlighted during the pandemic, when visitor numbers rose dramatically.

(*) Heathrow have not published flight numbers. The figure of up to 60,000 new arrival flights a year over Richmond Park is calculated by FRP (on the assumption that in the future new PBN flight path options will be used for all arrivals) as the total number of arrivals per year at Heathrow (240,000) multiplied by the percentage of days when flights land toward the west due to the prevailing winds (70%) multiplied by the proportion of the planned arrival flight paths going over Richmond Park (16 out of 43 or 37%).

Read more about Heathrow’s plans and how they will affect the Park: Here

Members of The Friends of Richmond Park will be updated through regular bulletins and you can also follow us on social media: #SaveRichmondPark

If you are not a member of the Friends and would like to be kept updated with the campaign, please join The Friends of Richmond Park:  Become a member

or complete the form below.