No Third Runway backlash for Siobhan Benita

Apr 25 2012 By Robert Cumber

Mayor candidate Siobhan Benita visits Brompton Cycles, Lionel Rd, South, Brentford.Here with Marketing Assistant Hannah Mellow.

A LONDON Mayoral hopeful who supports a third runway at Heathrow says she has not experienced any backlash from voters.

Independent candidate Siobhan Benita, now the bookies’ third favourite, visited Brentford and Cranford on Tuesday (April 24) as the campaign entered its final stretch.

She met the managing director of folding bike manufacturer Brompton Bicyle, in Brentford, before heading to Cranford to speak to independent traders.

“The biggest thing I would do to support businesses in Hounslow would be to back a third runway,” she said. "Most businesses in west London realise how much extra investment that would bring. I haven’t had the backlash against my policy on Heathrow some predicted. I genuinely haven’t met a businessperson who doesn’t support it.”

During her visit to Brompton Bicycle, Ms Benita was given a guided tour of the factory before meeting managing director Will Butler-Adams, who she claimed supported her stance on Heathrow.

She then headed to Cranford, where she dropped into shops in Bath Road, including a hairdresser, a chemist and a grocery store.

Cranford is the borough’s worst affected area when it comes to aircraft noise, especially since the ending of a historic agreement preventing take-offs over the village.

Shopkeepers said Ms Benita was ‘brave’ to visit the area but most agreed with her views on the airport, arguing that a third runway would bring much-needed investment.

Ms Benita is the only one of the seven mayoral candidates to publicly declare her support for a new landing strip at Heathrow, provided strict noise limits are met.

Speaking just after a serious accident down the road in Heston, involving a 17-year-old, the former civil servant said traffic and road safety was another big issue in the borough.

“That’s something which has been mentioned a lot when speaking to residents,” she told the Chronicle.

“In the first six months as mayor as I would ask every council to give me a list of the top five issues for residents. I would then hold them to account if improvements are not made in those areas.”

The London elections take place next Thursday (May 3). The other candidates are: Carlos Cortiglia (BNP), Boris Johnson (Conservative), Jenny Jones (Green), Ken Livingstone (Labour), Brian Paddick (Lib Dem) and Lawrence Webb (UKIP).

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