London Evening Standard/London
More Britons support building a new airport to meet the country’s aviation needs than favour expanding either Heathrow or Gatwick, a poll shows.
The new findings, in an Ipsos MORI survey for the Standard, will revive the debate about Boris Johnson’s proposals for a Thames Estuary airport, just as the government appears set to back a third runway at Heathrow.
Thirty percent of those who believe the UK needs more aviation capacity favoured an entirely new site, compared to 24% who backed a second runway at Gatwick and 22% who preferred a bigger Heathrow. A third of all respondents said they did not believe Britain’s airport capacity should be increased.
By far the biggest concern over expansion was the impact on the natural environment. Thirty-nine percent named this as one of the most important issues the government should consider when deciding on where to locate a new runway.
How much noise such a development would create for local residents was cited by 30%. This was double the figure for generating jobs and economic growth. Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said: “Most Britons want our airport capacity increased, but there is no clear consensus on the best solution.
“At the moment, though, the public’s view is dominated by issues of environmental impact and noise rather than jobs or cost.”
The Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, has recommended a third runway at Heathrow, rather than expanding Gatwick, having earlier dismissed the proposal for a “Boris island” airport in the estuary.
Sir Howard — the new Royal Bank of Scotland chairman — concluded that the economic benefits of a bigger Heathrow outweighed the environmental impacts, when compared to a second runway at Gatwick. But critics argue that Heathrow cannot expand while also meeting EU air pollution limits, and say this part of the commission’s report is flawed.
The commission concluded a third runway could be built and operated provided it did not delay London complying with the EU air quality rules. As long as one area of the capital had even more filthy air than Heathrow, then another runway could not be blamed for a delay, it argued.
But this stance could be challenged in court, and the government has been warned of the risks of pressing ahead with Heathrow expansion on the basis of the commission’s conclusions on air quality.
“People are quite rightly aghast at the environmentally catastrophic expansion of Heathrow, and realise that increasing capacity at Gatwick will fail to deliver the long-term capacity and economic benefit that we need,” said Daniel Moylan, the mayor of London’s chief adviser on aviation.
The government has pledged to make a decision on airport expansion by the end of the year.
Heathrow’s case appeared to have been bolstered last week, after it emerged that Cameron had set up a committee to decide on the issue which did not include five Cabinet ministers who have previously voiced opposition to a third runway.
Chairman Howard Davies
