Tories urged to back Heathrow expansion
reverse its opposition to the building of a third runway at Heathrow airport,
warning the policy would cost the economy billions of pounds in lost productivity.
economic benefit of adding capacity at Heathrow would be in the region of £300m
($488m)- £500m a year.
lost productivity over 60 years and would jeopardise wider economic benefits totalling
£20bn.
our economic future or we risk wasting £30bn fumbling around for an alternative."
and paid for by pro-Heathrow expansion lobby groups including BAA, the airports
operator, and British Airways, said the wider economic benefits of increasing
capacity at the only UK hub airport were greater than those found for major rail
schemes, including a proposed high-speed line to the north of England or Crossrail
in London.
urged BAA, the owner of Heathrow, to accelerate its plan.
local residents, should come into operation as soon as possible after 2015. Both
BAA and British Airways have previously said a third runway was unlikely to be
in use before 2020.
the runway and a sixth terminal. However, a general election must be held by next
May. The Conservatives have opposed the third runway project outright since last
autumn’s party conference.
of Heathrow, said the BCC report "smacks of desperation … It is a sign that
they have lost the battle for a third runway. The Conservatives and the Liberal
Democrats have said they would scrap it.
and social costs – the cost of noise, pollution, climate change, community destruction,
traffic congestion etc. That makes a mockery of its figures."
see also
A 3rd runway at Heathrow would add £30 billion to UK economy, says new study
by the British Chambers of Commerce
by the British Chambers of Commerce
year the runway is delayed costs the country between £900m and £1.1bn. They claim
that building the runway would add £30 billion to the UK economy, and that it
would deliver between £8.6bn and £12.8bn in increased productivity, and approximately
£20bn in wider economic benefits, such as higher levels of employment – over 60
years.
this is out of step with previous reports including the Government’s own figures
which found that the benefits to the economy would be £5 billion over 70 years.
John Stewart said the report smacks of desperation, indicated by the British Chamber
of Commerce’s need to resort to sensationalist claims. The figures of costs and
savings to the economy are based on dubious figures of the financial value of
passengers’ time while travelling or being delayed.
13.7.2009