WORDS MAT THEW PARSONS
CONFERENCE REPORT
BUILDING ‘HEATHROW 2.0’
As Gatwick ends its bid for a new second runway, experts discussed Heathrow’s transport and environment challenges at a Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum
THERE ARE HIGH HOPES FOR A “HEATHROW 2.0”, it was revealed at a recent Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum. Emma Gilthorpe, executive director, expansion, Heathrow Airport, said there had been “exciting progress” since the government approved a third runway, via its National Policy Statement (NPS).
She said expansion would create 40,000 local jobs, 10,000 extra jobs in the supply chain and 40 new long-haul routes. Meanwhile, the first electric aircraft would not pay airport fees, saving an airline up to £1 million in landing charges in its first year. “It’s not a choice between economy and environment. Heathrow 2.0 is our plan for sustainable growth. We will collaborate with others over noise, emissions and carbon,” she added. “Heathrow is Britain’s front door, and our gateway to the world,” she argued. “But we are also operating at capacity, and have been for over a decade, while other European hubs are expanding… the UK’s growth is being stifled.” However, speakers at the event, entitled “The future of UK airport capacity in the south-east: Heathrow expansion and next steps for aviation strategy”, raised concerns over congestion and air quality.
Alex Williams, director, city planning, Transport for London (TfL), said there
JUNE 2018: Government approves new north-west runway plan, via a National Policy Statement (NPS)
buyingbusinesstravel.com
Protesters at Westminster in June this year
TIMELINE: KEY HEATHROW AIRPORT DATES
MARCH 2019: Legal challenges against NPS to be heard in court
2019: Airport will hold 11 events in UK to showcase “contract opportunities” for SMEs
JAN 2019: Public consultation, focusing on airspace and communities
JUNE 2019: Final public consultation on airport proposal
2020: Airport to become carbon neutral; Submission of planning application (Development Consent Order)
2030: 50 per cent of airport journeys to be made by public or sustainable transport
2018 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 19
were surface access issues. There are currently 235,000 trips (passenger and staff) a day made to Heathrow airport, he claimed, but that figure would rise to 410,000 after expansion.
MEGA CITY FUTURE “The scale of increase is massive,” he warned, and called for “firm commit- ment to additional infrastructure” from both the proposed Heathrow Southern Railway and Western Rail Link. TfL is planning a 60 per cent capacity increase for the Piccadilly line, which calls at Heathrow, but Williams said this would not be enough. “That isn’t just to support the airport, it’s to support London which will soon be a ‘megacity’ – a city with 10 million people.” He applauded Heathrow’s proposal to ensure car journeys did not increase, but added: “We think the NPS targets are rather ambitious.” Rupert Walker, strategy and planning director, south, Network Rail, told the audience: “Of the 48 million people leaving or accessing the airport a year by surface access, under 30 per
cent use public transport. Of those 13 million, only 4 million use rail. The challenge is the lack of effective public transport connectivity; not the willingness to use it.” Also speaking at the forum was Cait
Hewitt, deputy director of the Aviation Environment Federation, who stated: “On climate change, probably the biggest existential challenge the world is facing, there’s almost nothing in the NPS... clearly some hurdles have been crossed, but some remain.”
END OF DOMESTIC FLIGHTS? With 15 per cent of slots on the new runway for domestic connections, the panel was quizzed on how the runway would affect the UK’s requirement to limit its CO2 emissions. Network Rail’s Walker said: “We need to build HS2. It will improve journey times between our great cities, in particular London, and that will kill domestic flights overnight. It happened in Spain between Madrid and Barcelona, by about 90 per cent, and that will reduce emissions.” ■ Heathrow Express: Guest Column, p113
TfL’s Alex Williams wants better rail links into Heathrow
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123
