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107-518: South Acton is an area in Acton, West London , 6.4 miles (10.3 km) west of Charing Cross . At the 2001 census , Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people. The area is dominated by the South Acton housing estate, a large public housing estate owned by Ealing Council . There are some 2,000 residential dwellings on

214-647: A bountiful catch when he next dropped his nets. Edric was instructed to present the King and St. Mellitus, Bishop of London with a salmon and various proofs that the consecration had already occurred . Every year on 29 June, St Peters day, the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers presents the Abbey with a salmon in memory of this event. The Palace of Westminster subsequently developed, with Parliament being based there from its establishment in 1265. The presence of

321-703: A fast connection between Paddington and Acton Central station . For car users the location offers quick access to the A40 to the north and the A4/M4 to the south. Acton High Street is the main local shopping centre, but has limited shopping facilities, although it does have a Morrison's supermarket. Some local residents also use the Sainsbury's in Chiswick . In July 2017 a Sainsbury's local opened on Palmerston road next to South Acton overground station. In addition there are

428-532: A few additional shops, one in the south area of the estate and two in the north, which are now closed. Local leisure facilities include Acton Baths, Reynolds Sports Centre, a games area on the South Acton Estate's South Park, Twyford Church of England High School and Ealing Tertiary College. In addition the Chiswick Park development has a Health Club and there are numerous private gyms within

535-590: A focal point in their own right, later becoming known as the West End of London . The development of the area began with the establishment of the Abbey on a site then called Thorney Island , the choice of site may in part relate to the natural ford which is thought to have carried Watling Street over the Thames in the vicinity. Tradition dates the foundation to the 7th Century AD with written records dating back to

642-490: A generous open pedestrian space, located to the north of Bollo Bridge Road. Although geographically close to the red brick area to the north of the site and the blocks to west of the site, the area is isolated by a lack of interconnecting roads. The west area of the estate is bordered by Bollo Lane to the west, the industrial area and Bollo Bridge Road to the south, and the Victorian Housing along Heathfield Road to

749-430: A lack of transparency over the way in which the figures are calculated. The airport has always refused to publish a breakdown showing how many "Fly Quiet points" each performance benchmark has contributed towards the total score it awards to an airline, thereby putting obstacles in the way of any independent auditing of the published results. Among other criticisms of the league table are the unexplained omission of some of

856-448: A model of an Emirates Airbus A380 since 2008. Heathrow Airport has Anglican , Catholic , Free Church , Hindu , Jewish , Muslim and Sikh chaplains. There is a multi-faith prayer room and counselling room in each terminal, in addition to St. George's Interdenominational Chapel in an underground vault adjacent to the old control tower, where Christian services take place. The chaplains organise and lead prayers at certain times in

963-548: A new shared Heathrow Terminal 5 station . A dedicated motorway spur links the terminal to the M25 (between junctions 14 and 15). The terminal has 3,800   spaces multi-storey car park . A more distant long-stay car park for business passengers is connected to the terminal by a personal rapid transit system, the Heathrow Pod , which became operational in the spring of 2011. An automated people mover (APM) system, known as

1070-516: A number of problems and shortfalls with the existing stock. These included need for concrete repairs, roof repairs, window replacements, better insulation standards, upgrading of lifts and common parts, access control and security as well as the need for improvements internally and to external spaces. There are a number of services and facilities within easy reach of South Acton. The estate is well served by public transport. Acton Town underground station (Piccadilly and District lines) provides access to

1177-514: A number of shops around Acton Town underground station. The main local shopping facilities are the Bollo Bridge Road shops, some of which are under used or closed. The Post Office was well used and seen as an important community facility. However, as part of the post office closures programme it was closed. In addition there are further shops on Hanbury Road, some of which are presently well used and some converted for nursery use. There are

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1284-479: A permanent barrier in these areas. In the post war period, the area was earmarked for comprehensive redevelopment that would involve clearance of the 19th century properties labelled as slums. This was a common response by local authorities to the problems of poor housing after the war and it led to the proliferation of medium and high rise system built housing estates, influenced by Modernist ideals of Le Corbusier . Government subsidies and local politics also encouraged

1391-610: A priority since the combined business will require accommodation at Heathrow under one roof to maximise the cost savings envisaged under the deal. A proposal for Concourse D was featured in Heathrow's Capital Investment Plan 2009. The transport network around the airport has been extended to cope with the increase in passenger numbers. New branches of both the Heathrow Express and the Underground's Piccadilly line serve

1498-473: A problem for the South Acton estate and it has attracted a reputation as a dangerous estate, with high levels of drug use and dealing, and other associated anti-social behaviour. The high levels of crime stem from a combination of poor design on parts of the estate that bear some of the features Alice Coleman identified in Utopia on Trial of single entrances with multiple users, as well as complex deck access. It

1605-543: A proper noun, rather than just a geographical description in the 19th century. Like other areas of the capital, West London grew rapidly in the Victorian era as a result of railway-based commuting; with the building of the termini at Paddington and Marylebone , and the lines radiating from them, having a particularly profound effect. This trend continued in the twentieth century and was subsequently reinforced by motorcar-based commuting. The size of London stabilised after

1712-594: A site that covers 4.74 square miles (12.3 square kilometres). It was gradually expanded over 75 years and now has two parallel east–west runways , four operational passengers terminals and one cargo terminal. The airport is the primary hub for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic . Heathrow is 14 miles (23 km) west of Central London . It is located 3 miles (5 km) west of Hounslow , 3 miles (5 km) south of Hayes , and 3 miles (5 km) north-east of Staines-upon-Thames . Heathrow falls entirely within

1819-406: A steady deterioration of the physical environment. The Council has been severely limited in its ability to invest in the fabric of buildings and the estate since it was built, primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. The buildings themselves and the public realm are now tired and significant new investment is necessary. In 1999, NBA Consortium Services carried out a Stock Condition Survey. This identified

1926-616: A third runway to the north of the airport, which would significantly increase traffic capacity. Policing of the airport is the responsibility of the aviation security , a unit of the Metropolitan Police , although the British Army , including armoured vehicles of the Household Cavalry , has occasionally been deployed at the airport during periods of heightened security. Full body scanners are now used at

2033-519: A £200   million upgrade to enable it to accommodate 45   airlines with an upgraded forecourt to reduce traffic congestion and improve security. Most flights using Terminal 4 are those from/to East Europe, Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East as well as a few flights from/to Europe. An extended check-in area with renovated piers and departure lounges and a new baggage system were installed, and four new stands were built to accommodate

2140-415: Is acutely juxtaposed by its local community which is made up of young and old families who have lived in the area for decades. As long ago as 1996 the council decided that redevelopment and regeneration was needed on South Acton to improve the quality of homes and of peoples lives. As noted above, lack of investment and poor original design and the high levels of maintenance necessary meant that refurbishment

2247-509: Is also a result of a residualised social housing policy that has polarised entrants to social housing into the lowest income categories. There are a number of drinking control areas on the estate and in Acton itself to tackle alcohol abuse. ASB and drug dealing is also being tackled by the Safer Neighbourhoods Team in partnership with Ealing Council, Ealing Homes and residents. South Acton's former reputation as dangerous

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2354-586: Is dedicated to British Airways's narrowbody fleet for flights around the UK and the rest of Europe, the first satellite (Concourse B) includes dedicated stands for BA and Iberia's widebody fleet except for the Airbus A380, and the second satellite (Concourse C), includes 7 dedicated aircraft stands for the A380. It became fully operational on 1 June 2011. Terminal 5 was voted Skytrax World's Best Airport Terminal 2014 in

2461-473: Is exclusively used by British Airways as its global hub. However, because of the merger, between 25 March 2012 and 12 July 2022, Iberia's operations at Heathrow were moved to the terminal, making it the home of International Airlines Group . On 12 July 2022, Iberia's flight operations were moved back to Terminal 3. On 7 July 2020, American moved to Terminal 5, to allow for easier connections from American's transatlantic flights to British Airways flights during

2568-444: Is home to Oneworld members (with the exception of Malaysia Airlines , Qatar Airways and Royal Air Maroc , all of which use Terminal 4), SkyTeam members Aeroméxico , China Airlines , Delta Air Lines , Middle East Airlines , Virgin Atlantic , and several long haul unaffiliated carriers. British Airways also operates several flights from this terminal, as do Iberia and Vueling . Opened in 1986, Terminal 4 has 22 gates . It

2675-553: Is now in brand new facilities. It is a specialist school for media arts. Education for pupils over the age of 16 is provided via the sixth forms at Twyford and Ellen Wilkinson schools and also the Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, which has campuses on Ealing Green and in Hammersmith. The Bollo Brook Youth Centre situated in the center of the estate, is statutory youth centre which specialises in arts based activities . In

2782-480: Is on the western boundary. On the southern boundary is South Acton railway station , a London Overground station running north through to Stratford and south to Richmond . The site is bounded to the north by Acton High Street, to the south by the London Overground railway line, to the east by a Victorian residential neighbourhood and to the west by Bollo Lane and the tube lines. To the south east, on

2889-434: Is operating as a business from a building in the west of the estate. The estate is characterised by a number of large open green spaces forming part of a wider network of green spaces. The most significant of these in terms of ease of access is the generous open space provision at the recreation ground on Bollo Bridge Road, originally a walled Victorian Park but now opened up and framed by mature trees. Tenants and residents on

2996-490: Is primarily used by Star Alliance airlines (consolidating the airlines under Star Alliance's co-location policy "Move Under One Roof"). The terminal is also used by a few non-aligned airlines. Terminal 2 is one of the two terminals that operate UK and Irish domestic flights. Although Scandinavian Airlines is now part of the SkyTeam alliance as of 1 September, 2024, it still uses Terminal 2. The original Terminal 2 opened as

3103-652: Is situated to the south of the southern runway next to the cargo terminal and is connected to Terminals 2 and 3 by the Heathrow Cargo Tunnel . The terminal has an area of 105,481 m (1,135,390 sq ft) and is now home to the SkyTeam alliance; except Scandinavian Airlines which uses Terminal 2, and China Airlines , Aeroméxico , Delta Air Lines , Middle East Airlines , and Virgin Atlantic which use Terminal 3 - Oneworld carriers Malaysia Airlines , Qatar Airways , Royal Air Maroc , and Gulf Air and to most unaffiliated carriers. It has undergone

3210-577: Is the main international airport serving London , the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom . It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others being Gatwick , Stansted , Luton , City and Southend ). The airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings . In 2023, Heathrow was the busiest airport in Europe ,

3317-425: Is under used. There are a number of providers for nursery aged children within the area. Berrymede Infant School caters for pupils aged 3–7, with pupils aged 7–11 being provided for at the separate Berrymede Junior School, which is located in two buildings located on either side of Osborne Road. The Indices of Deprivation 2004 show that the two schools have the highest deprivation ranking of all 65 primary schools in

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3424-624: Is used to differentiate the area from other informal radial divisions of London, the Metropolitan Compass ; North London , East London and South London . The term "West London" has been used for a variety of formal purposes with the boundaries defined according to the purposes of the designation. The 2011 iteration of the London Plan included an altered "West" sub-region, to be used for planning, engagement, resource allocation and progress reporting purposes. It consists of

3531-626: The Airports Commission , an independent commission chaired by Sir Howard Davies to examine various options for increasing capacity at UK airports. In July 2015, the commission backed a third runway at Heathrow, which the government approved in October 2016. However, the Court of Appeal rejected this plan, on the basis that the government failed to consider climate change and the environmental impact of aviation . On 16 December 2020,

3638-631: The Father of the West End . In 1720, John Strype 's "Survey of London" described Westminster as one of the then four distinct areas of London; in it he describes the City of London , Westminster (West London) , Southwark (South London) , and 'That Part beyond the Tower' (East London) . The area now usually referred to as North London developed later. As well as the proximity of the centre of government,

3745-531: The London Boroughs of Brent , Harrow , Ealing , Hammersmith and Fulham , Hillingdon , Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames . As well as including outer areas of West London, the sub-region also includes areas south of the river, not usually counted as part of West London; areas of the cross-river London Borough of Richmond upon Thames . The 2004-2008 and 2008-2011 versions of the sub-region varied in their composition. The W (Western) postcode area

3852-622: The M25 motorway . The airport is located within the Hayes and Harlington parliamentary constituency. As the airport is located west of London and as its runways run east–west, an aircraft's landing approach is usually directly over the Greater London Urban Area when the wind has a westerly component — as it often has. The airport forms part of a travel to work area consisting of (most of) Greater London, and neighbouring parts of

3959-610: The Mayor of London in 2011 referred to the London boroughs of Brent , Harrow , Ealing , Hammersmith and Fulham , Hounslow , Richmond , and Hillingdon as West London. Some parts of West London, such as Westminster and the West End are also a part of Central London , an area which also lacks precise definition. The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames spans the River Thames so its status can be ambiguous. The term West London

4066-638: The UK Supreme Court lifted the ban on the third runway expansion, allowing the construction plan to go ahead. Until it was required to sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports, Heathrow Airport Holdings, owned mostly by FGP and Qatar Investment Authority and CDPQ held a dominant position in the London aviation market and has been heavily regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as to how much it can charge airlines to land. The annual increase in landing charge per passenger

4173-421: The fourth-busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic and the second-busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic . As of 2023, Heathrow is the airport with the most international connections in the world. Heathrow was founded as a small airfield in 1930 but was developed into a much larger airport after World War II . It lies 14 miles (23 kilometres ) west of Central London on

4280-407: The 2000 units, to near 3500 units. There have been several phases of development on South Acton since 2001. In 2001 Barrie House, a 21-storey tower block on the centre of the estate was demolished and Phase 1 of the regeneration of South Acton began with the re-development of this site in partnership with Catalyst . The scheme consists of 86 new homes, both social rented and shared ownership and

4387-546: The 960s or early 970s. The Island and surrounding area became known as Westminster in reference to the church. The legendary origin is that in the early 7th century, a local fisherman named Edric ferried a stranger in tattered foreign clothing over the Thames to Thorney Island . It was a miraculous appearance of St Peter , a fisherman himself, coming to the island to consecrate the newly built church, which would subsequently develop into Westminster Abbey. He rewarded Edric with

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4494-765: The Acton area. Acton Baths is currently the subject of consideration of the Town Hall redevelopment proposals. Other community facilities include the Priory Centre, which is a centre used by Somali women and other community groups, the Oak Tree Community Centre, which provides crèche facilities, the Sunlight Nursery and Bollo Brook Youth Centre. SASAC, the South Acton Sewing and Arts Collaborative has been very successful and

4601-475: The Airbus A380; Qatar Airways operates regular A380 flights. Terminal 5 lies between the northern and southern runways at the western end of the Heathrow site and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 March 2008, 19 years after its inception. It opened to the public on 27 March 2008, and British Airways and its partner company Iberia have exclusive use of this terminal, which has 50   gates, including three hardstands. The first passenger to enter Terminal 5

4708-486: The Annual World Airport Awards. The main terminal building (Concourse A) has an area of 300,000 square metres (3,200,000 sq ft) while Concourse B covers 60,000 square metres (650,000 sq ft). It has 60 aircraft stands and capacity for 30   million passengers annually as well as more than 100   shops and restaurants. It is also home to British Airways' Flagship lounge,

4815-459: The Borough. Both schools have had good reports from their last OfSTED inspections and Berrymede Junior has the highest value added score in the Borough in the recently published league tables. Most secondary age pupils from the area attend one of the three closest high schools (Acton High, Twyford CE High and The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls). Acton High School has been completely rebuilt and

4922-552: The Concorde Room, alongside four further British Airways branded lounges. One of those lounges is the British Airways Arrivals Lounge which is located land-side. A further building, designated Concourse D and of similar size to Concourse C, may yet be built to the east of the existing site, providing up to another 16   stands. Following British Airways' merger with Iberia , this may become

5029-610: The Europa Building in 1955 and was the airport's oldest terminal. It had an area of 49,654 m (534,470 sq ft) and was designed to handle around 1.2   million passengers annually. In its final years, it accommodated up to 8   million. A total of 316   million passengers passed through the terminal in its lifetime. The building was demolished in 2010, along with the Queens Building which had housed airline company offices. Terminal 3 opened as

5136-800: The London Plan's thirty-eight Opportunity Areas are part of West London; Kensal Canalside , Paddington , Earl's Court and West Kensington , Harrow and Wealdstone , Park Royal , Old Oak Common , Southall , Tottenham Court Road , Victoria, Wembley and White City . London Heathrow Airport is a major employer in West London, and the University of West London has more than 47,000 students. Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport ( / ˌ h iː θ ˈ r oʊ , ˈ h iː θ r oʊ / ), called London Airport until 1966 ( IATA : LHR , ICAO : EGLL ), and now known as London Heathrow,

5243-529: The Oceanic Terminal on 13 November 1961 to handle flight departures for long-haul routes for foreign carriers to the United States and Asia. At this time the airport had a direct helicopter service to central London from the gardens on the roof of the terminal building. Renamed Terminal 3 in 1968, it was expanded in 1970 with the addition of an arrivals building. Other facilities added included

5350-413: The South Acton estate and wider community have unrestricted access to this space, as well as to Acton Park, Acton Green and Gunnersbury Park. Within the estate the playground on Avenue Road is a well used space and the open space currently used as a football pitch is an important asset for young people. In addition, the recently created South Park involved young people in the creation of a skateboard area but

5457-491: The UK Government continued to develop the site as a civil airport. The airport was opened on 25 March 1946 as London Airport. The airport was renamed Heathrow Airport in the last week of September 1966, to avoid confusion with the other two airports which serve London, Gatwick and Stansted . The design for the airport was by Sir Frederick Gibberd . He set out the original terminals and central-area buildings, including

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5564-470: The UK's first moving walkways . In 2006, the new £105   million Pier 6 was completed to accommodate the Airbus A380 superjumbo; Emirates and Qantas operate regular flights from Terminal 3 using the Airbus A380. Redevelopment of Terminal 3's forecourt by the addition of a new four-lane drop-off area and a large pedestrianised plaza, complete with a canopy to the front of the terminal building,

5671-559: The US and UK signed a new US-UK Air Transport Agreement in November 2020 incorporating the essential elements of Open Skies, which came into effect in March 2021. The airport was criticised in 2007 for overcrowding and delays; according to Heathrow Airport Holdings, Heathrow's facilities were originally designed to accommodate 55   million passengers annually. The number of passengers using

5778-701: The US. In 1991, Pan Am and TWA sold their rights to United Airlines and American Airlines respectively, while Virgin Atlantic was added to the list of airlines allowed to operate on these routes. The Bermuda II Air Service Agreement was superseded by a new " open skies " agreement that was signed by the United States and the European Union on 30 April 2007 and came into effect on 30 March 2008. Shortly afterwards, additional US airlines, including Northwest Airlines , Continental Airlines , US Airways and Delta Air Lines started services to Heathrow after previously having to use Gatwick Airport . Following Brexit ,

5885-433: The West End in 20 minutes and Heathrow Airport in a similar time. South Acton station (London Overground) has trains to Richmond and Stratford ). The underground station is earmarked for a £2.5m refurbishment in the near future by London Underground . There is, in addition, planning approval for a new station to serve Chiswick Park Phase 2, but this is currently on hold. Crossrail proposals, if they go ahead, will mean

5992-481: The West End was long favoured by the rich elite as a place of residence because it was usually upwind of the smoke drifting from the crowded City. A further factor facilitating rapid growth in West London was the very large number of bridges linking the area to South London and the area beyond; by contrast, even today, there are no bridges east of Tower Bridge , partly as the river becomes wider as it heads east. The term "West End of London" gained widespread currency as

6099-609: The Westminster urban area, linked up with that extending from the City in the time of Henry VIII . It was at around that time that Westminster first acquired City status. In the mid 17th century Henry Jermyn , was instrumental in developing the St James's and Mayfair districts of Westminster. These districts provided a fashionable new focus for western London, that came to be known as the West End . Jermyn would become known as

6206-506: The addition of new housing (public and private), community facilities, non-residential commercial development and retail. The masterplanners recognised "a real opportunity to create a new high density urban quarter over the next decade, served as it is by Acton Town underground station on the Piccadilly line and South Acton on the north London line." South Acton has a high PTAL rating, meaning that density could be conceivably double from

6313-426: The air, almost all of the original runways can still be seen, incorporated into the present system of taxiways. North of the northern runway and the former taxiway and aprons, now the site of extensive car parks, is the entrance to the access tunnel and the site of Heathrow's unofficial " gate guardian ". For many years the home of a 40% scale model of a British Airways Concorde , G-CONC; the site has been occupied by

6420-458: The aircraft to their final approach, merging aircraft from the four holds into a single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) apart. Considerable use is made of continuous descent approach techniques to minimise the environmental effects of incoming aircraft, particularly at night. Once an aircraft is established on its final approach, control is handed over to Heathrow Tower. When runway alternation

6527-422: The airport reached a record 70   million in 2012. In 2007 the airport was voted the world's least favourite, alongside Chicago O'Hare , in a TripAdvisor survey. However, the opening of Terminal 5 in 2008 has relieved some pressure on terminal facilities, increasing the airport's terminal capacity to 90   million passengers per year. A tie-up is also in place with McLaren Applied Technologies to optimise

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6634-423: The airport, and passengers who refuse to use them are required to submit to a hand search in a private room. The scanners display passengers' bodies as cartoon figures, with indicators showing where concealed items may be. For many decades Heathrow had a reputation for theft from baggage by baggage handlers. This led to the airport being nicknamed "Thiefrow", with periodic arrests of baggage handlers. Following

6741-420: The area from 2005 onwards. Since 1999, the South Acton estate has been undergoing a regeneration which has resulted in significant improvements in both housing and community. The area was originally built to a traditional Victorian street pattern with medium density terraced housing occupying the majority of the site. Although initially having good north/south links, the construction of the railway lines created

6848-422: The area include the boroughs of Brent and Harrow , taking ancient Watling Street as the boundary in those outer areas. The Grand Union Canal is West London's major internal waterway. West London is bordered by the administrative counties of Surrey to the south west and south; Berkshire to the west and north west; Buckinghamshire to the north west; and Hertfordshire to the north. A publication by

6955-611: The boundaries of the London Borough of Hillingdon , and under the Twickenham postcode area , with the postcode TW6. It is surrounded by the villages of Sipson , Harlington , Harmondsworth , and Longford to the north and the neighbourhoods of Cranford and Hatton to the east. To the south lie Feltham , Bedfont and Stanwell while to the west Heathrow is separated from Slough , Horton and Windsor in Berkshire by

7062-547: The centre (e.g. Camborne Road). The top cargo export destinations include the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates handling 1.4 million tonnes of cargo in 2022. The top products exported were books, salmon and medicine. Aircraft destined for Heathrow are usually routed to one of four holding points . Air traffic controllers at Heathrow Approach Control (based in Swanwick, Hampshire ) then guide

7169-432: The centre of government as a distinct focus for growth, accompanied by the proximity of the City, ensured that western London was the fastest growing part of early London. The growth of the City of London beyond its city walls was much faster outside the western gates of Ludgate and Newgate than it was outside the gates to the north or to the east; this rapid growth was due to the roads from these western gates leading to

7276-497: The charges for landing at Heathrow are determined by the CAA and Heathrow Airport Holdings, the allocation of landing slots to airlines is carried out by Airport Co-ordination Limited (ACL). Until 2008, air traffic between Heathrow and the United States was strictly governed by the countries' bilateral Bermuda II treaty. The treaty originally allowed only British Airways, Pan Am and TWA to fly from Heathrow to designated gateways in

7383-749: The establishment of the Metropolitan Green Belt shortly after the Second World War . West London is an informally and inexactly defined area lying north of the River Thames and extends west from the edge of the City of London , to West London's historic and commercial core of Westminster and the West End , on to the Greater London boundary, much of which is formed by the River Colne . Some interpretations of

7490-465: The estate, covering approximately 25 hectares of land. These are accommodated in a range of principally medium to high rise blocks . The estate also provides shops, a youth club, a community centre, a nursery, school buildings and open space. The area is well served by transport links. Acton Town , a major interchange for the District and Piccadilly lines , with links to Heathrow and the West End

7597-433: The existing paths which were spread out. The zones used alternated weekly, meaning residents in the "no-fly" areas received respite from aircraft noise for set periods. However, it was concluded that some residents in other areas experienced more noise as a consequence of the trial and that it should therefore not be taken forward in its current form. Heathrow received more than 25,000 noise complaints in just three months over

7704-536: The first six weeks ( United Airlines ' transatlantic flights) to avoid the opening problems seen at Terminal 5. On 4 June 2014, United became the first airline to move into Terminal 2 from Terminals 1 and 4 followed by All Nippon Airways , Air Canada and Air China from Terminal 3. Air New Zealand , Asiana Airlines , Croatia Airlines , LOT Polish Airlines , South African Airways , and TAP Air Portugal moved in on 22 October 2014. Flights using Terminal 2 primarily originate from northern Europe or western Europe. It

7811-465: The four main holds. The following four stacks are currently in place: In high-traffic situations, air traffic controllers can opt to use a number of RNAV STARs either to send traffic to a non-standard stack or to move traffic from one stack to another. These are not allowed to be used for flight planning and will be assigned by ATC tactically. In September 2012, the British government established

7918-446: The general procedure, reducing delays and pollution. With only two runways operating at over 98% of their capacity, Heathrow has little room for more flights, although the use of larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 has allowed some increase in passenger numbers. It is difficult for existing airlines to obtain landing slots to enable them to increase their services from the airport, or for new airlines to start operations. To increase

8025-472: The last 8% being of other ethnic origins. A great range of first languages other than English are spoken at the local school. Historically, the estate and the area has suffered from a poor reputation, in particular because of high levels of crime and drug dealing and use. However, recent efforts by the Council, Ealing Homes (the council's housing management company) and local residents have seen improvements in

8132-440: The natural topography of the site. Flats on the upper floors of many of the taller buildings have extensive views across London. Some of the original inhabitants of the estate are still resident and can recall how pleasant it was when newly built. Traditionally the area was well served by local industries such as Wilkinson Sword and Lucas Aerospace but the last decade has witnessed a decline in traditional manufacturing employment and

8239-475: The new homes began in May 2008, with an estimated 2 years to complete the building works. Phase 2.2 on the site of Shaw Court and Kipling Tower car park will deliver a further 127 units with a similar split of rented and shared ownership units. West London The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London , North London , East London and South London . West London

8346-532: The nominated departure runway, to help reduce airborne delays and to position landing aircraft closer to their terminal, reducing taxi times. Night-time flights at Heathrow are subject to restrictions . Between 23:00 and 04:00, the noisiest aircraft (rated QC /8 and QC/16) cannot be scheduled for operation. Also, during the night quota period (23:30–06:00) there are four limits: A trial of "noise-relief zones" ran from December 2012 to March 2013, which concentrated approach flight paths into defined areas compared with

8453-477: The north of the site, adjacent to the town centre. This area comprises a mixture of low rise and high rise blocks, with a large number of now unused underground car parks. It has a sloping site topography and lack of through roads, and is characterised by complex deck access circulation patterns, which are difficult to negotiate as a pedestrian. Generally the estate is characterised by a series of slab blocks and towers set in mature landscaped open spaces which exploit

8560-425: The north. The existing infant and junior schools with associated open space create an eastern boundary. The west area predominately comprises a mixture of mid to high rise tower blocks. Geographically this area is closest to Acton Town tube station and its excellent public transport connections. The last part of the site to be built dates from the late 1970s and is commonly referred to as the ‘red brick’ area, located at

8667-402: The number of flights, Heathrow Airport Holdings has proposed using the existing two runways in 'mixed mode' whereby aircraft would be allowed to take off and land on the same runway. This would increase the airport's capacity from its current 480,000 movements per year to as many as 550,000 according to former British Airways CEO Willie Walsh . Heathrow Airport Holdings has also proposed building

8774-468: The original control tower and the multi-faith Chapel of St George's. Heathrow Airport is used by over 89 airlines flying to 214 destinations in 84 countries. The airport is the primary hub of British Airways and is a base for Virgin Atlantic . It has four passenger terminals (numbered 2 to 5) and a cargo terminal. In 2021 Heathrow served 19.4 million passengers, of which 17 million were international and 2.4 million domestic. The busiest year ever recorded

8881-439: The other side of the railway line, lie the suburban residential areas of Acton Green and Bedford Park. The estate and area is also particularly diverse. Historically, the area has been important for Irish working-class immigrants, and recently this has been supplemented by Indian , Afro-Caribbean and Somali immigration. Currently the population is 52% white, including 5% of Irish descent, 24% Afro-Caribbean, 16% Asian, with

8988-400: The other. To further reduce noise nuisance, the use of runways 27R and 27L is swapped at 15:00 each day if the wind is from the west. When landings are easterly there is no alternation; 09L remains the landing runway and 09R the takeoff runway due to the legacy of the now rescinded Cranford Agreement , pending taxiway works to allow the roles to be reversed. Occasionally, landings are allowed on

9095-427: The pandemic. However, all American flights, except JFK, have returned to Terminal 3. China Southern Airlines used Terminal 5 due to the pandemic until it was relocated to Terminal 4 in November 2022. Built for £4.3   billion, the terminal consists of a four-story main terminal building (Concourse A) and two satellite buildings linked to the main terminal by an underground people mover transit system. Concourse A

9202-416: The pattern closest to their arrival route. They can be visualised as a helix in the sky. Each stack descends in 1,000 feet (305 m) intervals from 16,000 feet (4,877 m) down to 8,000 feet (2,438 m). Aircraft hold between 7,000 and 15,000 feet (2,134 and 4,572 m) at 1,000-foot intervals. If these holds become full, aircraft are held at more distant points before being cleared onward to one of

9309-493: The political centre of Westminster. The large and prosperous extra-mural ward of Farringdon Without , extensively urbanised during the 12th century, has been described as London's First West End . From the 15th to 17th centuries, growth along the roads from Ludgate ( Fleet Street and The Strand ) and Newgate ( Holborn and High Holborn ) accelerated, and came to extend far beyond Farringdon Without, into Holborn , Bloomsbury and Westminster . Urban growth extending from

9416-415: The poorer performers among the 50 busiest airlines and the emphasis on relative rather than absolute performance, so an airline could well improve its "Fly Quiet" score quarter-on-quarter even if its environmental performance had in fact worsened over the period. In October 2024, Heathrow finally reinstated the programme, rebadged as “Fly Quieter & Greener”. Two more environmental benchmarks were added to

9523-408: The prayer room. The airport has its resident press corps, consisting of six photographers and one TV crew, serving all the major newspapers and television stations around the world. Most of Heathrow's internal roads’ names are coded by their first letter: N in the north (e.g. Newall Road), E in the east (e.g. Elmdon Road), S in the south (e.g. Stratford Road), W in the west (e.g. Walrus Road), C in

9630-799: The previous seven, but in all other respects the aforementioned deficiencies of the original scheme remain. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic Heathrow has seen a large increase in cargo-only flights, not only by already established carriers at the airport operating cargo-only flights using passenger aircraft but also by several cargo-only airlines. Inbound aircraft to London Heathrow Airport typically follow one of several Standard Arrival Routes (STARs). The STARs each terminate at one of four different VOR installations , and these also define four "stacks" where aircraft can be held if necessary until they are cleared to begin their approach to land. Stacks are sections of airspace where inbound aircraft will normally use

9737-433: The production of system built and high rise housing. The council embarked on comprehensive redevelopment in 1949 with the construction of Bollo Court. The redevelopment continued over the 50s, 60s and 70s with a variety of styles and archetypes. The central area of the site comprises 1960's tower blocks and slab blocks, including Charles Hocking House, Barwick House, Hardy Court, Carisbrooke and Ludlow Courts, which are set in

9844-402: The shape of a hexagram with the permanent passenger terminal in the middle and the older terminal along the north edge of the field; two of its runways would always be within 30° of the wind direction. As the required length for runways has grown, Heathrow now has only two parallel runways running east–west. These are extended versions of the two east–west runways from the original hexagram. From

9951-554: The summer of 2016, but around half were made by the same ten people. In 2017, Heathrow introduced "Fly Quiet & Green", a quarterly published league table (suspended in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic) that awards points to the 50 busiest airlines at the airport, ostensibly based on their performance relative to each other across a range of seven environmental benchmarks, such as NO x emissions. Heathrow has acknowledged, but not attempted to refute, criticism over discrepancies and

10058-407: The surrounding Home Counties . Heathrow Airport began in 1929 as a small airfield ( Great West Aerodrome ) on land southeast of the hamlet of Heathrow from which the airport takes its name. At that time the land consisted of farms, market gardens and orchards ; there was a "Heathrow Farm" approximately where the modern Terminal 2 is situated, a "Heathrow Hall" and a "Heathrow House." This hamlet

10165-466: The widespread disruption caused by reports of drone sightings at Gatwick Airport , and a subsequent incident at Heathrow, a drone-detection system was installed airport-wide to attempt to combat disruption caused by the illegal use of drones. The airport's newest terminal, officially known as the Queen's Terminal, was opened on 4 June 2014 and has 24 gates. Designed by Spanish architect Luis Vidal , it

10272-451: The youth center there are instruments, a recording studio, cooking lessons and internet access available for South Acton youths. Many teenagers are found here recording music, including UK Garage and Grime popular urban British genres. The centre is also used for daytime programmes with young people who are not in mainstream education, delivered in partnership with other voluntary and statutory sector organisations. Historically, crime has been

10379-408: Was 2019 when 80.9 million passengers travelled through the airport. Heathrow is the UK's largest port by value with a network of over 218 destinations worldwide. The busiest single destination in passenger numbers is New York, with over three   million passengers flying between Heathrow and JFK Airport in 2021. In the 1950s, Heathrow had six runways, arranged in three pairs at different angles in

10486-425: Was a UK ex-pat from Kenya who passed through security at 04:30 on the day. He was presented with a boarding pass by British Airways CEO Willie Walsh for the first departing flight, BA302 to Paris. During the two weeks after its opening, operations were disrupted by problems with the terminal's IT systems, coupled with insufficient testing and staff training, which caused over 500 flights to be cancelled. Terminal 5

10593-552: Was built on the site that had been occupied by the original Terminal 2 and the Queens Building. The main complex was completed in November 2013 and underwent six months of testing before opening to passengers. It includes a satellite pier (T2B), a 1,340-space car park, and a cooling station to generate chilled water. There are 52 shops and 17 bars and restaurants. The airlines moved from their original locations over six months, with only 10% of flights operating from there in

10700-488: Was capped at inflation minus 3% until 1 April 2003. From 2003 to 2007 charges increased by inflation plus 6.5% per year, taking the fee to £9.28 per passenger in 2007. In March 2008, the CAA announced that the charge would be allowed to increase by 23.5% to £12.80 from 1 April 2008 and by inflation plus 7.5% for each of the following four years. In April 2013, the CAA announced a proposal for Heathrow to charge fees calculated by inflation minus 1.3%, continuing until 2019. Whilst

10807-657: Was completed in 2005. In addition six blocks were refurbished internally and externally and the Oak Tree Community Centre (located on Osborne Road) was demolished and new centre (offering approximately twice the floor area) was built in its place. The new community centre opened in August 2007. Phase 2.1 on the site of Maugham Court, Reade Court, Lawrence Court, and Shaw Court Garages will deliver 129 new homes: 75 rented units and 54 shared ownership units, including 13 Wheelchair adapted units. Catalyst successfully gained full planning consent for this phase in November 2007. Construction of

10914-605: Was completed in 2007. These improvements were intended to improve passengers' experience, reduce traffic congestion and improve security. As part of this project, Virgin Atlantic was assigned its dedicated check-in area, known as 'Zone A', which features a large sculpture and atrium. As of 2013 , Terminal 3 has an area of 98,962 m (1,065,220 sq ft) with 28 gates, and in 2011 it handled 19.8   million passengers on 104,100   flights. Most flights from Terminal 3 are long-haul flights from North America, Asia and other foreign countries other than Europe. Terminal 3

11021-470: Was introduced in 1857 to facilitate the distribution of mail. The postcode area is a sub-set of West London. The London Plan defines two areas of London as International Centres, the West End and Knightsbridge , both in west London. Five of the thirteen Metropolitan Centres in the plan are also in West London: Ealing , Hounslow , Harrow , Uxbridge and Shepherd's Bush . Eleven of

11128-476: Was introduced, aircraft generated significantly more noise on departure than when landing, so a preference for westerly operations during daylight was introduced, which continues to this day. In this mode, aircraft take off towards the west and land from the east over London, thereby minimising the impact of noise on the most densely populated areas. Heathrow's two runways generally operate in segregated mode, whereby landings are allocated to one runway and takeoffs to

11235-456: Was largely along a country lane (Heathrow Road), which ran roughly along the east and south edges of the present central terminals area. Development of the whole Heathrow area as a much larger airport began in 1944 during World War II . It was intended for long-distance military aircraft bound for the Far East. By the time some of the airfield's runways were usable, World War II had ended, and

11342-406: Was not the preferred option. ECD Architects and Proctor and Matthews were appointed by Ealing Council to prepare an Urban Design Framework, or masterplan, for the regeneration of the South Acton Estate. This framework explores the potential of South Acton and sets markers for what could be achieved if redevelopment was to be pursued. The framework proposed a mixed development is proposed, including

11449-465: Was part of the historic county of Middlesex . Early West London had two main focuses of growth, the area around Thorney Island , site of Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster , and ribbon development heading west - towards Westminster - from gates in the walls of the City of London . In the 17th century these areas of growth would be linked by high status new developments, which formed

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