Ministers to approve plans for third runway at Heathrow Airport
Controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport were expected to be confirmed on Tuesday by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.
Grayling was expected to outline the plans to cabinet’s economic subcommittee, before the decision goes to the full cabinet for approval.
If approved by the cabinet, members of parliament would also have to take a vote on the issue in the coming weeks. The debate has been going on for nearly 20 years.
Although there are many local residents and political figures like ex-transport secretary Justine Greening who disapprove of the plans, the government backs the expansion. Greening has called for a free vote on the issue as her constituency is affected by any development as is Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's.
Ministers approved a draft national airports policy statement in October spelling out the conditions for a new runway, parliament still has to give its approval for detailed planning to begin.
Opposers threatened a legal challenge if the plan goes forward. Campaigners argue that the runway will breach the limits on air pollution and increase noise pollution with an extra 700 flying planes a day.
Greening said the runway would cost £18bn to build and a further £15bn to upgrade local roads and rail infrastructure.
The new runway would increase Heathrow’s capacity from to 130m from 85.5m. It would also create approximately 60,000 new jobs and generate £70bn in total economic benefits by the 2050s, the government claimed.
If MPs approve the expansion, airport owners Ferrovial, Qatar Investment Authority and China Investment Corporation among others, will then have to secure planning permission, with construction slated to start in 2021 and the new runway operational by 2026.
The CBI responded positively to the announcement with Deputy Director-General Josh Hardie saying: "It’s fantastic that the new runway at Heathrow is getting closer to take-off. All the more so as the United Kingdom has waited for nearly half a century for this decision."
"Expanding our aviation capacity, and creating new flight routes to rapidly growing markets, is mission critical to ensuring Britain can compete on the post-Brexit world stage," he added