Third Heathrow Runway Would Drive Growth, Healey Says

Chancellor John Healey has said building a third runway at Heathrow Airport has “always been a case for growth”. His comments came after Prime Minister Andy Burnham refused to say whether he supports the expansion.

Healey said airport expansion, including at Heathrow, had been “a big part of jobs and growth” in recent decades. He made the remarks at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Bangkok.

Burnham was more sceptical. Last month he told the BBC the decision was “a matter for London and Londoners”.

Healey’s predecessor, Rachel Reeves, had placed the expansion at the centre of her argument that Britain was open for business.

Consultation and next steps

Healey told reporters: “The case for a third runway at Heathrow has always been a case for growth.”

He added: “The formal position now is that the consultation is closed, led by the Transport Department. We’re reviewing those, and then further decisions and announcements will follow.”

The Department for Transport has said it is “considering the appropriate next steps” after the public consultation on its National Policy Statement. That document provides the basis for deciding whether to grant a new runway at Heathrow.

Industry pressure

Earlier this week, Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye warned that failing to build a third runway at the UK’s busiest airport would be a “huge missed opportunity”.

The airport’s consortium of owners has said it needs explicit backing from Burnham before the end of the year to proceed. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Woldbye said it would be “good to know” the government’s position. He said he hoped the prime minister would “come along” with the project, adding that a third runway was “not just for Londoners”.

“Benefits will be felt all over the country because our supply chain reaches all the way from the north all the way to the south of the UK,” Woldbye said.

Background to the project

The third runway has been debated for decades. The project faces opposition from residents, politicians and climate campaigners.

Last year, Reeves announced the government-backed expansion, saying “a third runway is badly needed”. She said the government could not “duck the decision any longer”.

In September, Burnham suggested the issue was one for London to decide. “I think we ought to hear the voice of people there first. It’s not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation,” he said.

Heathrow currently serves more than 80 million travellers a year through four passenger terminals and two runways. Flights are currently capped at 480,000 a year. With a third runway, that cap could rise to 720,000, or nearly 2,000 a day on average.

The project has an estimated price tag of £33bn. It would see hundreds of homes demolished and rivers diverted. The M25 would be rerouted through a tunnel between junctions 14 and 15.

The new runway was scheduled to open by 2035, subject to plans being submitted and approved. Heathrow has since suggested the opening could be delayed by four years, to 2039, due to planning and regulatory issues.