Heathrow’s third runway plan backed by Rachel Reeves
The airport’s plan to build a third runway received parliamentary approval in June 2018, but has been delayed by legal challenges and the pandemic.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has given her support for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
In a speech in Oxfordshire on growth, she said the west London airport’s expansion is “badly needed” because “for decades its growth has been constrained”.
Heathrow’s plan to build a third runway received parliamentary approval in June 2018, but has been delayed by legal challenges and the coronavirus pandemic.
The airport needs to secure approval for a Development Consent Order to go ahead with the project.
Ms Reeves said: “I can confirm today that this Government supports a third runway at Heathrow and is inviting proposals to be brought forward by the summer.
“We will then take forward a full assessment through the Airports National Policy Statement.
“This will ensure that the project is value for money and our clear expectation is that any associated service transport costs will be financed through private funding.
“It will ensure that a third runway is delivered in line with our legal, environmental and climate objectives.”
Mr Reeves said that “by backing a third runway at Heathrow we can make Britain the world’s best-connected place to do business”.
“That is what it takes to make decisions in the national interest and that is what I mean by going further and faster to kick-start economic growth,” she added.
Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye described the Chancellor’s speech as “the bold, responsible vision the UK needs to thrive in the 21st century”.
He went on: “It has given us the confidence to confirm our continued support for expanding Heathrow.
“Successfully delivering the project at pace requires policy change – particularly around necessary airspace modernisation and making the regulatory model fit for purpose.
“We will now work with the Government on the expected planning reform and support ministers to deliver the changes which will set us on track to securing planning permission before the end of this Parliament.”
The scheme would involve around seven years of construction to produce a third runway and a new terminal.
It would also require more than 700 houses to be demolished and the M25 motorway to be moved into a tunnel.
Environmental groups have expressed major concerns over the impact of airport expansion on climate change.
Bob Ward, from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, said airport expansion “should not proceed until the Government shows exactly how it will be compatible with the UK’s carbon budgets and net zero target”.
Friends of the Earth’s head of campaigns, Rosie Downes, warned that giving the go-ahead to airport expansion while relying on new technology such as sustainable aviation fuels would be a “reckless gamble”.
The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit’s Colin Walker warned that the pathway to net zero already relies on sustainable fuels, and a third runway will “increase emissions way beyond the capacity of these fuels to offset them”.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said he remains “opposed” to Heathrow expansion because of the “severe impact it will have on noise, air pollution and meeting our climate change targets”.
He added: “Despite the progress that’s been made in the aviation sector to make it more sustainable, I’m simply not convinced that you can have hundreds of thousands of additional flights at Heathrow every year without a hugely damaging impact on our environment.”
Asked if Sir Sadiq’s opposition makes him a “blocker”, a Labour spokesman said: “No, we agree with the Mayor of London that growth must come hand in hand with our climate obligations, and that’s why the Chancellor set out that we support a third runway.
“That will be in line with our climate obligations and we look forward to working closely with the mayor throughout the process.”
International Airlines Group, owner of British Airways – which operates the most flights from Heathrow – said in a statement that it welcomes Ms Reeves’ announcement, but noted that Heathrow is “the most expensive airport in the world” and “we look forward to working with the Government, the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and Heathrow on fixing this for consumers”.
Kenton Jarvis, chief executive of easyJet, which has no flights from Heathrow, said a third runway would create “a unique opportunity for easyJet to operate from the airport at scale for the first time”.
CAA chief executive Rob Bishton said it is “important for the sector to remain safe and grow in a responsible way”.
