Heathrow closure would create 70,000 job losses, report says

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/dec/11/heathrow-closure-create-job-losses-report

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Closing Heathrow for a new hub airport would lead to the loss of up to 70,000 jobs in the surrounding area, according to research for three neighbouring borough councils.

A report for Hounslow, Ealing and Slough councils claims that recent studies have underestimated the impact on employment from the potential disappearance of London Heathrow.

The report comes as the Airports Commission, led by Howard Davies, prepares to issue an interim report giving a shortlist of options for airport expansion in south-east England. One option yet to be officially eliminated is a new hub airport with four runways to the east of London proposed by the London mayor, Boris Johnson.

Heathrow and airlines have stated that the only way such a new hub could operate would be if Heathrow closed down – a prospect that the mayor has embraced.

The research considers six possible scenarios for the airport and warns that if the Davies commission recommendations led to shutting Heathrow for a new hub, there would be a net loss of 70,000 jobs in the boroughs by 2030, given an estimate of as many as 250,000 jobs directly or indirectly induced by the west London airport.

Colin Ellar, deputy leader of Hounslow council, said: "Sir Howard Davies and his commission colleagues need to take into account the economic wasteland they would create for employment if they go with the nuclear option of a brand new estuary hub. At a time when the UK's economic recovery is in its fragile infancy and needs to be nurtured, it would plunge west London into a new recession from which it might never fully recover."

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