Scotland promised big boost from third Heathrow runway
● Prestwick could see first benefits as airports told to expect better links
Scotland will see “significant benefits” from construction of a third runway at Heathrow ministers said yesterday after the UK government confirmed a “truly momentous” decision on expanding airport capacity.
Prestwick could see the first gains with a new passenger route and investment connected to construction and servicing of an expanded Heathrow, while passengers flying from other Scottish airports have been told they can expect better links to London, more competition and lower fares.
A public consultation will now be held on the impact of a third runway at the west London hub before the final decision is put to MPS for a vote in the winter of 2017-18. The proposal was chosen ahead of a plans for second runway at Gatwick Airport, or extending one of the existing runways at Heathrow.
Flights could be taking off from the new runway by 2025. Heathrow bosses said the airport was ready to deliver an expansion plan that is
“fair, affordable and secures the benefits of expansion for the whole of the UK”.
The UK Department for Transport claimed that the new runway will bring economic benefits to passengers and the wider economy worth up to £61 billion.
Primeministertheresamay, who was 11 years old when a third runway was first recommended at Heathrow, moved to head off possible cabinet resignations by giving ministers freedom to speak out against the government’s decision.
The announcement sparked an immediate split, with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson calling the project “undeliverable”. Mr Johnson predicted that legal challenges by local authorities under the Heathrow flight path would derail the project.
Last night the former Conservative London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith resigned as MP for Richmond Park over his long-standing opposition to a third runway, forcing a by-election he said would “send a message to government”.
Members of a cabinet subcommittee that included Scottish Secretary David Mundell gave their unanimous backing
0 Heathrow was picked ahead of Gatwick for a new runway to a third runway. Announcing the decision in the Commons, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “The step that the government is taking today is truly momentous.
He added: “We’ve thought long and hard about this. The committee considered all three options. There were three very good options on the table.
“But we believe a third runway for Heathrow is the best option for our future. It’s the best for the whole country to create better connectivity to the different regions of the United Kingdom and to provide the best trade links to the world.”
Mr Mundell said he was “absolutely committed” to use the decision to secure improved flight connections for Scotland. Six new routes to regional airports across the UK have already been promised by 2030, including a proposal for a link with Prestwick.
The Scottish Secretary said he would also argue for a second scheduled flight between Inverness and Heathrow, as well as a new route for Dundee Airport.
Mr Mundell said: “A new runway at Heathrow will provide a major boost for the Scottish economy for decades to come. It will mean better air links for business, and brings the promise of greater competition pushing down on fares for everyone.”
He added: “The number of flights between Scotland and Heathrow has fallen by about 25 per cent over the past ten years, and to Gatwick by 20 per cent. We need to work to ensure that is reversed.”
The Scottish Government, which owns the loss-making Prestwick and gave its backing for a third runway, welcomed the decision. Economy secretary Keith Brown said: “The potential for a logistics hub to be based at Glasgow Prestwick Airport is also an important part of the Heathrow offer.
“It would support the prefabrication of components for the construction phase, with potential for future work beyond the launch of the third runway, bringing strong economic benefits to the airport and the wider Ayrshire economy.
“It’s now crucial that the UK government starts work on this immediately and puts in place measures to secure guaranteed access to Heathrow for Scotland’s airports. There can be no further costly delays if Scotland, and the UK as a whole, is to reap the rewards on offer.”
Expansion at Heathrow was also welcomed by Highlands and Islands Airports and the Scottish Council for Development & Industry, but environmental groups said a third runway would raise pollution levels in London that already breach legal limits.
Greenpeaceukexecutive director John Sauven said the decision would “create a carbon bomb” and accused ministers of misleading the public on the environmental impact of the scheme.
The decision was also criticised by Edinburgh Airport, which warned that turning Heathrow into the UK’S undisputed hub airport would create a “powerful monopoly” in the south-east of England that would undermine the creation of international links elsewhere.
Chief executive Gordon Dewar said: “Scotland’s airports are less dependent on London than they have ever been. Our passengers tell us that they want to fly directly and we believe a larger Heathrow will in effect be a powerful monopoly that could undermine long-haul direct international services from every part of the UK.”
The decision to approve a third runway at Heathrow to expand UK airport capacity has got to be welcomed – if for no other reason than it is a decision. The politics of Heathrow expansion have been difficult and by and large seem to be business interests in conflict with the interests of the people who live around the airport. Many MPS have been comprehensively lobbied. But in the end there is a long-awaited resolution and this government has done what no other has brought itself to do.
And if the forecasts are right – and this issue has been thoroughly examined, make no mistake about that, then this will be a significant boost for the UK economy. It has to be wondered what part Brexit played in the decision. The government has now committed to a huge amount of construction, as well as the runway there is the new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point and work on the biggest project of all, HS2, is scheduled to begin next year.
It has long been a tactic of successive governments that if the country should find itself in an economic downturn public spending can be brought out to keep people working and to keep people spending. If the Brexit vote leads to the sort of downturn that some have forecast then it might be very prudent indeed to have heavy work programmes lined up. In fact the government has reversed its austerity policy in the light of Brexit and the chancellor Philip Hammond has indicated he will be willing to borrow to keep government spending up. The deep irony here of course is another consequence of Brexit – stopping the free movement of labour within Europe – might mean the projects take longer because unemployment in the UK is at a relative low. That, however might change as a consequence of Brexit as well.
And this is not an instant cure, any new runway will not be operating until around 2025, and chances are we will have been out of Europe for a while by then. But this does seem as if it is good news for Scotland with commitments that about £200 million would be spent in Scotland, the creation of up to 16,000 jobs and £10m for new domestic routes, and the Scottish Government had already given Heathrow its support.
Although there is a sneaking feeling that that support came because there was also a commitment to investigate Prestwick Airport as a potential site for a logistics hub to help with the building of the new runway, and also of passenger routes to Prestwick.
The Scottish Government is the surprise owner of Prestwick Airport and has come under fire for the purchase and also for the lack of any plan to get it back in to profit and therefore attractive for selling back to the private sector.
Perhaps that commitment to investigate those possibilities was an offer the Scottish Government could not refuse to accept. Let us hope that it is kept, and that investigations prove fruitful and there is a better future for Prestwick.