Rachel Reeves Supports Heathrow’s Proposal for Third Runway
The airport’s plan to build a third runway received parliamentary approval in June 2018, but has been delayed by legal challenges and the pandemic.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has given her support for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
In a speech in Oxfordshire on growth, she said the west London airport’s expansion is “badly needed” because “for decades its growth has been constrained.”
Heathrow’s plan to build a third runway received parliamentary approval in June 2018, but has been delayed by legal challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airport needs to secure approval for a Development Consent Order to go ahead with the project.
Chief Executive Thomas Woldbye said he would not continue developing the scheme without the government confirming it wants expansion.
Reeves said: “I can confirm today that this government supports a third runway at Heathrow and is inviting proposals to be brought forward by the summer.
“We will then take forward a full assessment through the Airports National Policy Statement.
“This will ensure that the project is value for money and our clear expectation is that any associated service transport costs will be financed through private funding.
“It will ensure that a third runway is delivered in line with our legal, environmental, and climate objectives.”
Reeves also said the previous government had taken no action on a third runway and claimed no full-length runway has been built in Britain since the 1940s.
The scheme would involve around seven years of construction to produce a third runway and a new terminal.
It would also require more than 700 houses to be demolished and the M25 motorway to be moved into a tunnel.
Environmental groups have expressed major concerns over the environmental impact of the airport expansion.
