Heathrow airport third runway: M25 would be 16 lanes wide under new plan

 
Heathrow bosses today submitted a final plan to the aviation commission
epa03994008 (FILES) File picture dated 22 March 2010 of British Airways aircraft taxi on to the runway at Heathrow Airport in west London, Britain, 22 March 2010. New runways at Heathrow and Gatwick are among the options that have been short-listed by the

Heathrow bosses today unveiled plans to convert the M25 into a 16-lane motorway to make way for a third runway.

The widened 2.5-mile stretch off junctions 14-15 of the M25 would include the hard shoulders. Construction would take up to four years with the opening date set for 2021.

The development was revealed in Heathrow's final plan submitted to the Government’s aviation commission.

If built, the runway would be slightly further south, to avoid having to dig up the M25/M4 junction. A 600-metre tunnel would be built under the M25.

Under the plans, vehicles dropping off passengers at Heathrow could also face a congestion charge, once transport improvements around the airport are finished. Heathrow chief John Holland-Kaye refused to say how much such a charge would be but it is thought the toll would have to be £30 to deter motorists.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "It will be the better off who will find it most affordable. It must not be introduced until public transport is improved or else it risks becoming another tax on the mobility of the least wealthy. Ultimately though this is a private matter between Heathrow and its customers.”

The airport's owners said building a third runway at Heathrow would deliver a £100 billion boost to the UK economy and create 100,000 new jobs.

Insisting that the nation needed an airport hub, they claimed it would connect to more emerging markets and be the best option for economic growth.

Heathrow said some 40 new destinations would be served by a third runway, including San José in California, Wuhan in China and Calcutta.

Cargo volumes would double, boosting competitiveness, they added.

Heathrow also revealed that 200 homes in Harmondsworth — out of 950 previously earmarked for demolition — would be saved by relocating the runway. The Grade 1-listed Great Barn at Harmondsworth and Grade 2-listed St Mary’s Church would be spared.

For those whose homes face demolition, the airport is proposing compensation of 25 per cent above the properties’ unblighted market value, plus stamp duty costs and legal fees in relation to buying a new home. Someone owning a £250,000 property would receive £312,500 compensation, plus £7,500 stamp duty costs and legal fees.

But John Stewart, chairman of anti-Heathrow expansion group Hacan, said: “It’s still going to be several thousand people being forced out and a longstanding community being destroyed. The Airports Commission won’t make their recommendation until next year and the decision will be taken by the next government.

“People in Harmondsworth feel there will be another 18 months of blight on their properties.”

Heathrow said the third runway, to the north-west of the airport, would be operational by 2025 and cost £15.6 billion to build, with the Government paying £1.2 billion towards the M25 tunnel and motorway widening.

Although Heathrow is Europe’s noisiest airport, its bosses claimed the number of people living under the flightpath would be cut by 30 per cent by 2030, and 12,000 fewer locals will suffer the worst noise, as a result of the third runway’s realignment.

Today’s revised plan comes after Heathrow airport consulted 140,000 residents and business.

Government aviation supremo Sir Howard Davies shortlisted Heathrow’s proposal in December. Also on the list is an extended northern runway at Heathrow, designed by former Concorde pilot Jock Lowe, and a second runway at Gatwick. The mayor’s preferred Estuary airport solution is expected to be formally rejected in September.

Holland-Kaye, Development Director and Chief Executive Designate of Heathrow, said: “Expansion at Heathrow matters to the whole country. Only Heathrow will connect all of the UK to fast growing international markets. The plans we are submitting to the Airports Commission demonstrate major economic benefits from a third runway for the whole of the UK. Expansion at Heathrow has national and local support.

"We have worked closely with local residents, listened to their concerns and improved our plans. Our submission reduces the number of properties that would need to be purchased and the number of people affected by significant noise. We would establish a fund to enhance local amenities and compensate residents more generously than previous UK infrastructure projects. “

Heathrow would set aside £550m to purchase local homes or for sound insulation in what the airport says is the most generous compensation scheme for any UK infrastructure project.

Sir Howard Davies has said a new runway must be built in the southeast by 2030 with another to be added by 2050 to cope with demand. He will make his recommendation to ministers after next May’s election.

The Davies commission was formed after chancellor george osborne resurrected the prospect of Heathrow expansion. But party leaders have refused to be drawn on a preference, saying they will be guided by Sir Howard’s findings.

Gatwick insists that the hub model is not in the best interest of passengers. Its says it can deliver lower fares and connect to emerging markets with longer range aircraft.

A second runway at Gatwick would be easier to deliver as it would affect fewer local residents, it said.

The sussex airport said today it could deliver £40bn more to the economy than heathrow in economic boost.

Stewart Wingate, CEO of London Gatwick said: “As we reach this critical point in the aviation debate it is clear that the Airports Commission has a very real choice to make: expand Gatwick and create genuine competition in the market with lower fares for everyone, or move back to a London airport market dominated by a single player and saddle the next generation with higher air fares.

“Why would you choose to fly a quarter of a million more planes every year over one of the world’s most densely populated cities when instead you can fly them mostly over fields? Why tunnel part of the busiest motorway in Europe – the M25 - causing serious traffic disruption, when you can build on land already set aside for expansion? The choice is an obvious one. Expand the best and only deliverable option – Gatwick – and create a market that serves everyone.”

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