Despite all surrounding local authorities being opposed to Terminal 5, the government has decided to give it the go-ahead.

The inevitable consequence is that air pollution, already outside acceptable limits, will get worse.

Noise, already bad, will get worse.

Traffic congestion, already intolerable, will get worse.

The Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly Line will become totally unusable for Heathrow residents.

The risk of a Queens type accident in Hounslow and surrounding areas will increase.

West London will become less attractive.

I have seen nothing to convince me that Terminal 5 will benefit our local economy or improve anything that affects any of us, rather the reverse.

This is not democracy. This is not even an economic sense.

It amounts to the virtual destruction of west London.

We can take comfort from the strict safeguards attached to the approval.

Flight numbers will be limited to 480,000 per annum (about one every 50 seconds for 18 hours a day).

Passenger numbers will be limited to 90 million a year.

Mind you, you would have to be crazy to believe any of this.

When Terminal 4 was approved in 1979, it was to be the last major expansion at Heathrow and flight numbers were to be limited to 260,000 a year.

We currently have around 450,000 and a near doubling of the size of Heathrow has just been approved.

For no further expansion, in fact read 'not for a few years'.

For 480,000 flights per annum, in fact read '900,000', and remember that the planning process is to be streamlined so it could be only a few years before all this doubles again.

Cllr John C Murphy