Heathrow's Terminal 5 has subsidence
01.06.09
Heathrow's Terminal 5 building is suffering from subsidence, the Telegraph reports. It says that BAA, the airport's owners have admitted that the foundations of the £4.3bn terminal are rising, with floor tiles having to be repaired on the south side of the terminal.
Terminal 5 was built on top of a former sewage works in London clay. Subsidence expert Norman Train, vice president of the Institute of Structural Engineers, told the newspaper: ‘T5 is like an iceberg - far more of it is below the ground than above. Because clay swells when it is built on there was always going to be movement. There will be movement as part of the bedding in process during the first few years of the construction.’
Over the weekend environmental campaigners at Greenpeace called for more information to be released about the subsidence problem, before works go ahead on a new terminal which is being planned just 500 meters from T5. Ben Stewart, from Greenpeace, said: 'We need to know the extent of the subsidence and any data BAA and the Government have on the effect this because it will have an impact on the planned sixth terminal.’
BAA confirmed it was suffering from subsidence but insisted the problem was minor and nothing to worry about. A spokesman told the Telegraph: 'In a building of this size, there is going to be some level of ground movement, but the fact remains that it is perfectly normal and what would be expected in a structure of this size. The degree of subsidence is in line with what you would expect and is nothing to worry about.’
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