A controversial £33billion plan to expansion Heathrow airport has moved step closure with a government blueprint on a third runway
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said Heathrow expansion was “critical” as the government published its blueprint on a third runway.
Publication on the long-awaited airports national policy statement marks the biggest step towards a new runway at the airport since Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the government’s intention to go ahead with the scheme last January.
Two proposals to expand Heathrow have previously been presented to the Government.
The airport’s owners – Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) – want permission to build a full-length, 3,500-metre runway, which would require the busy M25 motorway to be moved. Its scheme is estimated to cost £33billion, and is expected to be fully privately financed. It would see Heathrow’s capacity increase to 756,000 flights and 150 million passengers per year.
Hotel tycoon Surinder Arora wants his company to install a 2,800-metre runway which would not involve moving the motorway. In November last year, Ms Alexander announced her preference was for a full-length runway.
Speaking on Thursday, she said: “The Government considers that the development covered by the Heathrow expansion NPS is critical to national growth and therefore plans to designate expansion at Heathrow as critical national growth infrastructure. This is a signal of the importance the Government places on the need for expansion and will be an important additional factor in the planning balance.”
The draft plan requires applicants to demonstrate how the transport network would accommodate increased passenger numbers, including how any necessary road and rail improvements would be delivered. It proposes that expansion must be compatible with the UK’s legally binding climate targets, not cause new breaches of air quality limits and ensure noise emissions are not worse than 2024 levels, with reductions where possible.
The launch of the 10-week consultation comes on the day of the Makerfield by-election which could determine Sir Keir Starmer’s future. Andy Burnham is standing as Labour’s candidate in the Greater Manchester constituency with the hope of returning to Parliament to replace the Prime Minister. Mr Burnham has previously expressed concerns over Heathrow expansion, stating the plans divert infrastructure investment “away from the North and traps it in London”.
Ms Reeves said she was determined to get “spades in the ground” for the third runway in the current Parliament and for it to be built by 2035.
Speaking at the Times CEO Summit in London on Thursday, she claimed Heathrow was currently “not punching its weight” as a hub airport. Ms Reeves argued that Heathrow was “the perfect example of the problem in the UK in being able to get stuff done”, with people knowing “for years, decades” that a third runway was needed but failing to build one.
Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: “The publication of the draft Heathrow expansion national policy statement represents something Britain has often found difficult in recent years: progress. We strongly welcome that the Government has taken this next critical step.
“The UK cannot realise its full economic potential without an expanded Heathrow and this is an important step towards delivering the capacity the country needs. Our plan is privately funded by some of the largest investors in the world, widely supported by businesses, trade unions and communities across the country, and it’s ready to go after years of scrutiny. We will now focus on securing planning permission and delivering this vital project.”
Alethea Warrington, head of aviation at climate charity Possible, said: “The Government is living in a fantasy land if it thinks it can allow a new runway without making noise pollution even worse, making our air even more toxic, or crashing through our climate targets.”
