Heathrow unveils plans for airport expansion

Guardian News and Media/London

Heathrow airport has unveiled three different proposals for a third runway, putting tens of thousands of homes either under new flight paths or at risk of demolition.

Europe’s largest airport revealed possible expansion plans for a new runway that would either lie to the south-west, the north-west or the north of the two current runways, at a cost of £14-18bn, increasing flights to 740,000 a year.

The southern plan would see 850 homes in the neighbouring village of Stanwell Moor demolished, cross an existing reservoir and would likely see some of the most affluent parts of west London subject to massive increases in aircraft noise.

While parts of Feltham in Hounslow would be most affected by a new southern runway, the major opposition is likely to be sparked in parts of Twickenham and Richmond, where wealthy homeowners would find themselves under the flight path.

Heathrow has not revived the same plan for a third runway that was approved by the Labour government but overturned by the coalition when it came to power in 2010.

No homes in the village of Sipson - the focus last time, now largely owned by Heathrow - would be destroyed under two of the new proposals but it would still be flattened for the northern option.

Colin Matthews, Heathrow’s chief executive, said: “After half a century of vigorous debate but little action, it is clear the UK desperately needs a single hub airport with the capacity to provide the links to emerging economies which can boost UK jobs, GDP and trade.

“It is clear that the best solution for taxpayers, passengers and business is to build on the strength we already have at Heathrow.

“Today we are showing how that vision can be achieved whilst keeping the impact on local residents to an absolute minimum.”

Heathrow said all three options offered the chance of adding a fourth runway in the future, if needed, and said it would fund the runways itself rather than asking for taxpayers to pay.

The airport, along with many business groups and much of the aviation industry, argues that its expansion is crucial to preserve Britain’s position as a leading player in air transport. The airport currently operates to capacity, making it vulnerable to huge disruption and limiting the number of flights that can be offered around the world.

The airport has identified noise as the main political barrier to its expansion plans and hopes quieter planes, steeper flight paths and other mitigation measures can help dampen opposition.

However, John Stewart of the local campaign group HACAN said: “They can’t get round the fact that a third runway would bring 250,000 extra planes a year to Heathrow. With that sort of increase it’s going to be pretty hard to argue that overall noise levels won’t increase. We’re going to see London and the south-east under an even louder sky of sound.”

Heathrow’s proposals mark a new juncture in its ongoing expansion campaign, as it has previously not been drawn on specific plans for new runways.

The airport insisted that the choice of one of its options would be a “political decision” to be taken by the government rather than made by the airport operator, with different costs and benefits to each.

Its plans come two days after Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, proposed closing Heathrow and converting it into a garden city, claiming it could house 250,000 people.

 Johnson set out three options for a four-runway hub to the east of London: two sites in the Thames estuary and a massively transformed Stansted.

The theoretical debates about the economic benefits of airport expansion have been forced to develop into concrete proposals by the Airports Commission, led by Sir Howard Davies, which set a deadline of tomorrow for submissions for long-term options for growth.

Both Heathrow and the mayor share the view that the south-east needs a larger hub airport - that is, one with enough connecting flights and passengers to make more long-haul routes to emerging markets feasible.