Hoon backs third runway at Heathrow

Although the emphasis of the announcement was on boosting the economy and creating jobs, the Transport Secretary outlined a series of measures that aimed to protect the environment and meet carbon emission targets.

In an attempt to ease the widespread opposition to the controversial plan to build a third runway at Heathrow, Hoon said the number of flights that could initially use the runway would be 125,000 a year, almost half the number originally proposed by the Government. He said new capacity would only be added after a review in 2020 by the Climate Change Committee and on meeting strict local conditions on air quality and noise on the basis of independent assessment and enforcement. He said incentives would also be put in place for aircraft that were cleaner and quieter to make up the new capacity.

In addition, he outlined proposals for a new rail line between London and the West Midlands that could be linked to Heathrow and Crossrail through a new international interchange station and the possibility of new high-speed rail services between London and Scotland. He said a new company – High Speed 2 – was being set up to look into the feasibility of these plans, which would report back with advice by the end of the year.

He made the case for electrifying the Great Western and the Midland Mainline routes to make them quicker, quieter and greener.

And he announced a £250 million package to get more ultra-low carbon vehicles on Britain’s roads. The investment will be in addition to an existing £100 million programme for research, development and demonstration into green vehicles.

"Transport is the lifeblood of Britain's economy,” he said. “In spite of record levels of investment over the last decade, increasing demand means that in many places our transport infrastructure is operating at, or very near, capacity. It is essential we take the right decisions now: for the economy, to drive down greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; and to support British jobs.”
 
He said Heathrow was a vital part of the UK economy, but that for too long it had not been operating at full capacity allowing it to lose ground to other major international airports.

"This third runway will help secure jobs now and in the future and ensure that Britain remains a place where the world can come to do business,” he said.

Hoon made the case that a new rail line between the West Midlands and London via a Heathrow International Interchange would “unlock” the airport to the rest of the UK.

Hoon said the situation had improved greatly for those living near the airport over the past 30 years through improved aircraft technology and said he had rejected a ‘mixed mode’ use, which would have seen the two existing runways used more intensively.

"People who live around the airport clearly value runway alternation and that is why I have rejected more intensive use of the existing runways through mixed mode,” he said. "But we need to do more. The additional measures I am putting in place – on slot priority for cleaner, quieter aircraft and the release of new capacity only once environmental conditions are shown to be met – also demonstrate my determination to mitigate the effects of the airport on those who live nearby."

Many in the business community are backing a third runway at Heathrow because it will create jobs and help the UK’s global competitiveness.

However, it has also met widespread opposition amongst MPs, campaigners and residents because of concerns over noise and air pollution but also because it appears to go against the Government’s new plans to tackle climate change. Under the Climate Change Act, the Government has set binding targets to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

Richard Lambert, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said: “This approach to expanding Heathrow’s capacity makes real sense. It will create the integrated transport system necessary for an economy that needs to grow in an environmentally sustainable fashion.

“We strongly support the tough environmental standards which have been proposed for the aviation industry - they are stretching but achievable. It’s right that full use of the new runway capacity should be dependent on Heathrow meeting strict environmental requirements.”

However, Friends of the Earth's executive director, Andy Atkins, slammed the plans.

 “Expanding Heathrow is a hammer blow for UK climate targets that will shatter Gordon Brown's international reputation on the environment. We desperately need inspirational green leadership in the run-up to crucial UN climate talks later this year - not more polluting Brown policies," he said.

“Talk of 'green slots', clean aircraft and long term targets for cutting emissions will not prevent soaring emissions. The best way for the Government to tackle air travel's contribution to global climate change is to abandon plans to expand UK airports.”

Meanwhile campaign group Greenpeace, which has bought land earmarked for the construction of the runway in an effort to derail the project, said a statement on its website: “With the introduction of a new high speed rail between major cities in the UK which was also supported in the speech, we could eliminate the 100,000 flights a year from Heathrow to cities less than 300 miles away. Passenger numbers at Heathrow would fall to 1990 levels, negating the need for any more runway capacity. High speed rail will only make a difference to emissions if it is instead of airport expansion.”

The Conservatives have already stated they oppose the project and would overturn it if they came into power.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has said he will start legal proceedings against a third runway if the Government approved plans for it.

Other legal proceedings are also expected.

The scheme would also be subject to a debate in Parliament and would need to be granted planning permission.

All of this is expected to push the project back. The Government has said it expects the runway to be built in the period 2015-2020. 

The package of measures announced by the Transport Secretary today also included a £6 billion investment to increase capacity on UK roads. The package would provide an extra 520 lane miles of road by widening and opening up the hard shoulder on some of Britain's busiest roads and to roll-out hard shoulder running across the core motorway network.