MPs urge government to make decision on SE airport expansion

Transport Committee says delay is damaging UK economy

The opportunity to end decades of political dithering on airport expansion has been “squandered”, says the House of Commons’ Transport Committee in its report on airport expansion in the South East of England.

The MPs urge transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin to set out a clear timetable for expansion, making clear the measures that have been accepted or rejected as well as the work that needs to be completed.

The report concludes that arguments for and against expansion have changed little in a quarter of a century. The committee continues to back Heathrow, with the package of accompanying measures recommended by the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies.

The final report from the Davies Commission concluded in July 2015, and outlined that Heathrow was the best option because of the economic benefits for the whole country, which included £147bn in economic growth over the next 60 years and the creation on 70,000 new jobs by 2050.

The Transport Committee’s report documents the progress of the debate on airport expansion from the 1990s to the December 2015 statement in the House when Patrick McLoughlin said the case for expansion was “clear”, but added that further work was needed before a decision could be taken on location. The government indicated that the work should “conclude over the summer” so that the timetable for delivering additional capacity by 2030 could be met.

To read the MPs’ report click here

Louise Ellman, chair of the Transport Committee, said: “The government must make up its mind. The decision on location is not the end of the process, it is the start of one. Real progress cannot begin until the location is declared. Work on environmental issues can run in parallel with other pre-construction work.

“Across the world, cities are collectively planning to build more than 50 new runways with capacity to serve one billion additional passenger journeys by 2036. The growth of large hubs in the Middle and Far East and North America threatens our position as a hub of international aviation. The UK's connectivity with the world's emerging markets is a major concern. The months ticking by constitute time wasted for the UK's economic prosperity. UK PLC needs to know that a decision will be taken. Doing nothing means the UK continues to lose out.”

A DfT spokesman told BBC: “The case for aviation expansion is clear, but it's vitally important we get the decision right so that it will benefit generations to come.”