Good morning
A quiet three days for hyperlocal news, but one story with real weight for anyone under a Heathrow flight path. Also this week: a second food business registers at Olympic Studios, and a guide to the three Thames Path walks worth doing from Barnes Bridge.
The big story
Watchdog finds no climate path for third runway
The government's own climate advisers, the Climate Change Committee, say there is no credible route to a third Heathrow runway within the UK's net zero commitments under current policy. Richmond Council, which has long opposed expansion on environmental and noise grounds, has seized on the finding. The committee wants the climate test in the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement strengthened to explicitly require aviation to hit zero emissions by 2050 - a bar the airport, responsible for roughly half of UK aviation emissions, is a long way from clearing. READ →
In brief
Three Thames Path walks worth doing from Barnes Bridge
A guide to the towpath routes locals actually walk: the short 1.8-mile stretch east to Hammersmith Bridge, the longer 3.5-mile leg on to Putney, and the route west through Mortlake towards Kew. The Bull's Head and the White Hart both sit directly on the path for a pub stop, and the Wetland Centre's café is open daily until 4.30pm. READ →
Openings & closings
Second food registration at Olympic Studios on Church Road
A new food business trading as Olympic Studios has registered at 117-123 Church Road, the same address as Olympic Cinema, and is awaiting its first hygiene inspection. It's not clear yet what it will be - a second outlet, a café addition, or something separate from the cinema's existing catering, which was rated 4 in August. READ →
Planning & development
Council opposition to Heathrow expansion gets fresh ammunition
See the lead story above - the Climate Change Committee's finding strengthens the case Richmond Council has been making against a third runway. READ →