Heathrow plans 4 regional construction hubs for proposed runway, to give the impression of spreading jobs around UK
Four UK construction hubs are being sought by Heathrow to allow components of its £16bn expansion project to be built away from the airport. The logistics hubs will pre-assemble components for the proposed 3rd runway before transporting them to the airport. Heathrow claims this will make the project cheaper, and provide some jobs to other parts of the country. This form of construction may have been used in the housebuilding sector but had only had a “limited” role in major British infrastructure projects. The areas to have these construction hubs need to have good connectivity (road, rail?), have “a relevant supply chain and strong local skills”. Areas need to apply by July 31st, with a list of potential sites expected to be announced later this year. The airport can only start submitting its development consent order if the NPS is voted for in Parliament, and if the government wins the legal challenges. That could not be before spring 2018. Heathrow hopes, perhaps unrealistically, to have its runway built and working by 2025. Heathrow says it has used off-site locations before, with large parts of the structural steelwork for Terminal 2 building constructed in Yorkshire and Lancashire. In October 2016 the Scottish government said: “Heathrow will work with the Scottish Government to investigate Glasgow Prestwick Airport as a potential site for a logistics hub to support the building of the third runway.” No mention of that now?
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Heathrow starts search for four regional construction hubs
By Bradley Gerrard (Telegraph)
26 APRIL 2017
Four UK construction hubs are being sought by Heathrow to allow components of its £16bn expansion project to be built away from the airport.
The logistics hubs will pre-assemble components linked to projects related to the proposed third runway before transporting them to the airport. Heathrow’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye said this method would make the project more affordable and mean jobs linked to the investment would be spread more broadly across the country.
The airport claimed this method of construction had gained traction in the housebuilding sector but had only had a “limited” role in major British infrastructure projects.
Mr Holland-Kaye said suitable locations would have good connectivity, access to a relevant supply chain and strong local skills. Interested applicants need to apply by July 31, and all applications will be considered by Heathrow.
A list of potential sites is expected to be announced later this year, he said.
The Government decided to back Heathrow’s expansion last summer and MPs are expected to vote on the project by the end of this year, at which stage legal challenges can be lodged.
Four councils and Greenpeace are already working on a challenge to the third runway.
If the legal challenges are unsuccessful, a planning process will follow which will involve Heathrow submitting what is called a development consent order. It will have to act on complaints from interested parties, or explain why it has been unable to do so.
Heathrow hopes to have full approval to proceed by the end of 2020 and begin construction rapidly after that, completing the third runway in 2025.
The airport has used off-site locations before for other projects. It said large parts of the structural steelwork for its Terminal 2 building were constructed in Yorkshire and Lancashire before being transported to Heathrow.
When it built its car park at Terminal 2, the £2.5bn project employed businesses around the country.
Heathrow said Bison Manufacturing, based in Uddingston in Lanarkshire, were contracted to provide 40,000 square metres of pre-stressed flooring slabs for the terminal’s new 1,300 space car park.
It said the £1.5m contract accounted for 50pc of the factory’s output for eight months, with 20 staff from the local area retained to help meet the increased workload.
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Heathrow CEO: Expansion will make UK a world leader in offsite
26 APRIL, 2017
BY JACK SIMPSON (Construction News)
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye has announced plans that will see a significant slice of the airport’s £16bn expansion produced using offsite manufacture.
Mr Holland-Kaye announced today that the airport would be pushing an offsite agenda to help the country “lead the pack in global construction”.
He said: “The global construction industry is set to be worth £15tn by 2025 – that’s a huge prize that Britain deserves a bigger share of and Heathrow can help.
“We want to use Heathrow expansion to not only upgrade Britain’s infrastructure, but cultivate a new world-leading sector and drive growth across the whole country.”
Mr Holland-Kaye added that expansion could be a starting point for this revolution and would provide a lasting legacy that would allow the UK to sell its expertise across the world.
The comments came as the airport launched a prior information notice (PIN) seeking potential sites that would be suitable for the four logistic hubs it plans to build across the UK.
Earlier this month, Construction News revealed Heathrow would begin its hunt at the end of April for firms and local authorities to support the delivery of the planned hubs.
The airport said the locations will have good connectivity, access to a relevant supply chain and strong local skills.
The hubs are aimed at aiding the project’s efficient delivery, reducing costs, reducing emissions and spreading jobs across the country.
Interested applicants will have until the end of June to submit expressions of interest in hosting one of the four hubs.
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SNP misled by Heathrow inflated claims of number of jobs for Scotland due to a 3rd runway
The SNP decided to give its backing to a Heathrow runway, rather than one at Gatwick – having been led to believe that the only choice on offer was between these two. They were led, by Heathrow PR, to believe there would be greater benefits for Scotland. The SNP hoped to get exports from Scotland (salmon and razor clams) shipped through Heathrow. The Airports Commission came up with a figure of economic benefit from a Heathrow runway of UP TO £147 billion to all the UK over 60 years. Heathrow got a consultancy called Quod to work out the number of jobs. They came up with the figure of 16,100 jobs for Scotland (over 60 years) from the runway. The DfT has now downgraded the £147 billion figure, as it included various speculative elements, and double counted benefits. The new figure (also still far higher than the reality) from the DfT is UP TO £61 billion for the UK over 60 years. That, pro rata, would mean up to about 9,300 jobs for Scotland – not 16,100. It is unfortunate that the SNP were misinformed, as were other MPs, Chambers of Commerce etc across the regions. Heathrow also pledged benefits for Scotland such as using its steel for construction, and using Prestwick as a base. The Scottish Green party see the SNP backing of a Heathrow runway as a betrayal of those badly affected by it, and of Scotland’s climate commitments.
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The expansion plans offer the greatest strategic and economic benefits to Scotland, creating thousands of jobs and providing a significant boost to the country’s connectivity. The airport’s commitments include:
• The creation of up to 16,000 new jobs across Scotland from the new capacity.
• Heathrow will work with the Scottish Government to investigate Glasgow Prestwick Airport as a potential site for a logistics hub to support the building of the third runway.
• £200m of construction-related spend in Scotland during planning and construction.
Heathrow manages to persuade SNP to back its runway, with hopes of 16,000 jobs (?)