Heathrow and Gatwick shortlisted for new runway as airport options unveiled
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Version 0 of 1. A new runway for London and the south-east should be built at either Heathrow or Gatwick, the independent airports commission declared on Tuesday, heralding renewed battles for residents, campaigners and politicians just three years after expansion was ruled out. Sir Howard Davies, chair of the commission, said that while the UK did not face an immediate crisis of capacity there were "clear signs of strain" with passengers and warned that eventually the economy would pay the price if a new runway was not built. In its interim report, the commission set out two options for a third runway at Heathrow and one for a second runway at Gatwick, ruling out Stansted and all but dismissing the Boris Johnson-backed proposal for a brand new hub airport in the Thames estuary. The commission said one additional runway in the south-east was needed by 2030, with likely demand for a second by 2050. Davies said the commission would recommend only one of Heathrow or Gatwick's runways for immediate construction when it makes its final decision in June 2015. In an apparent boost to Gatwick's chances, Davies said he regarded focusing resources on one hub airport as risky. The Thames estuary airport proposal, backed primarily by the London mayor, Boris Johnson, was not included on the shortlist, although the commission said it would undertake further study of the Isle of Grain option in early 2014 to reach a view later next year whether that option could be considered after all – a concession apparently won at the 11th hour by Johnson. The mayor insisted his "Boris island" plans were not dead yet. He said: "The reality is that Sir Howard probably began with a shortlist that didn't include much apart from Heathrow, and he was told to have another think, and that's good." Davies did not deny meeting senior political figures towards the end of the drafting process but limited his response to saying: "The shortlist did not change." He also made clear that the mayor's vision for a new airport was at the margins of the commission's thinking, with an estimated price tag of £112bn and problems with wildlife, surface access and the closure of existing airports. He noted: "The notion of a once-in-a-century new development is imaginative." Stansted's owners, MAG, had supported proposals for expansion, but its potential for development into a four-runway hub had been mainly promoted by Johnson as an alternative to his estuary plan. In the Commons, the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said he would approach all three parties to see if he could persuade them to make a joint election commitment to be guided by the final recommendations of the commission, to be delivered in June 2015. He said the government "wanted to protect the integrity of the process and would not be commenting, either today or in responding to the interim report, on the respective merits of the options that have and have not been shortlisted". But he made implicitly clear to MPs that his preference is for a further runway and insisted this could go ahead without breaching the government's climate change commitments. He claimed:"Aircraft are changing; their emissions are changing." Labour, riven with its own divisions over the issue, refused to say if it would accept the Davies report's conclusions, and is likely to put criteria in its manifesto on how it will judge the report. Zac Goldsmith, the leading Tory opponent of Heathrow, said that "no serious political party can go into the next general election without a clear opinion on an issue that matters to so many people and so many businesses in this country. That is simply not a credible position for any party to have." The first Heathrow option selected by Davies was for a northwest runway, one of three locations the airport had mooted. It would mean the demolition of the village of Harmondsworth, and would see neighbouring Sipson spared from demolition but overflown at the tip of the runway. The second Heathrow proposal, from the Heathrow Hub group, would extend the existing northern runway to at least 6km, potentially enabling it to operate as two independent runways. Gatwick's option, a second 3km runway operating independently to the south, would have fewer planning constraints and only directly affect a few dozen properties, although residents say it would mean huge associated development in a rural area. Davies estimated the total economic cost of not building runways at £30-45bn by 2080. He said the second extra runwayneeded by 2050 would probably not be a fourth one at Heathrow, even if the west London hub got the go-ahead this time, although he said he would not rule it out. The interim report also included recommendations for short-term measures to improve the operational efficiency of UK airports and airspace, including revised air traffic practices and better road and rail access to existing airports. The Davies commission was formed in November 2012 after pressure from business groups and the aviation industry convinced Downing Street to re-examine the issue, despite the coalition scrapping plans for a Heathrow third runway in 2010. John Sauven of Greenpeace said that since airport expansion was last ruled out in 2010, "Nothing has changed except that millions of pounds have been spent by the aviation industry rehashing and re-spinning the same flawed arguments." Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |