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Heathrow Hub looking like the winner
Mizter T wrote:
On 25/09/2016 16:10, Recliner wrote: Mizter T wrote: On 25/09/2016 12:16, Recliner wrote: There's a short item in today's Sunday Times that suggests that the government is favouring the Heathrow Hub option: http://www.heathrowhub.com This is cheaper than the third runway, needs much less land (and very few properties will be affected), will be much quicker to build, and will not increase the noise footprint nearly as much. The scheme as proposed (not by HAL) also includes a road-rail interchange on the M4 and GWML (and possibly an HS2 spur), immediately to the north of the airport, with a direct light rail link to the terminals. However, I think that's really a separate idea. Crucially, BA is backing this scheme, rather than the third runway: http://news.sky.com/story/ba-owner-s...cheme-10319759 Interesting. Especially given that the Heathrow Hub proposal was rejected by the Airports Commission. It wasn't rejected. It was one of the three preferred options, ahead of Gatwick. It doesn't add as much capacity as a completely new runway, but is cheaper, quicker, easier, less disruptive. Mea culpa... I was going to check, but decided to let my faulty memory serve me instead. I shall go and have another look at the Commission's report. From https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/440316/airports-commission-final-report.pdf We have concluded that the best answer is to expand Heathrow’s runway capacity. A brand new airport in the Thames Estuary, while appealing in theory, is unfeasibly expensive, highly problematic in environmental terms and would be hugely disruptive for many businesses and communities. Gatwick, by contrast, has presented a plausible case for expansion. It is well placed to cater for growth in intra-European leisure flying, but is unlikely to provide as much of the type of capacity which is most urgently required: long-haul destinations in new markets. Heathrow can provide that capacity most easily and quickly. The benefits are signifcantly greater, for business passengers, freight operators and the broader economy. All passengers will benefit from enhanced competition. Our choice at Heathrow is in favour of the Northwest Runway proposal by the airport operator. The so-called Heathrow Hub is an imaginative idea, which has usefully opened up thinking about the way the airport operates, but for the reasons we explain is less attractive from a noise perspective. The Northwest Runway scheme is technically feasible and does not involve massive, untested infrastructure. The costs are high, but financeable by the private sector, in our judgement and that of investors. .... 13.2 Each of the three schemes shortlisted for detailed consideration was considered a credible option for expansion, capable of delivering valuable enhancements to the UK’s aviation capacity and connectivity. They would each also have negative environmental effects, which would need to be carefully managed, though in all three cases the schemes’ developers have sought to limit those where possible through careful design. 13.3 Nonetheless, the Commission has unanimously concluded that the proposal for a new Northwest Runway at Heathrow Airport, in combination with the signi cant package of measures to address its environmental and community impacts described below, presents the strongest case. It delivers more substantial economic and strategic bene ts than any other shortlisted option, strengthening connectivity for passengers and freight users and boosting the productivity of the UK economy, and strikes a fair balance between national and local priorities. The Commission’s terms of reference required it to make recommendations designed to maintain the UK’s position as a global hub for aviation: Heathrow expansion is the most likely route to achieving that. If Heathrow is the government's choice then it's still going to face some almighty opposition, though perhaps given the whole Heathrow question has been going on for so long - a 'war of attrition' if you will - maybe some of that opposition could fall by the wayside. I think Heathrow has been the government's choice for ages. They just couldn't find a good time to announce it. Had Gatwick been the preferred choice, it would have been announced before the 2015 election. George Osborne's choice, yes. But there's not been a government decision per se on it. Agreed, but I think most ministers and MPs (with some well-known exceptions) favour Heathrow. There have been all sorts of rumours and whispers about the issue though, with some seemingly credible ones also pointing to the choice being Gatwick, with the subtext that Heathrow was just too difficult. Poyle would be razed under the scheme - much of the area is a trading estate, though there are some residential streets south of Bath Rd that would have to go. (As would the current T5 Pod Parking!) The latter would be affected by either of the runway options. OK, though I wasn't seeking to make a serious point from that! I was just thinking about the immediate localities that will be affected. I'm not sure to what degree Colnbrook and Poyle have been hit by planning blight re the possibility of a Heathrow extension - it has certainly badly affected Sipson and Harmondsworth. Which would actually survive under this proposal. HAL would be the owner of some newly valuable properties! On a broader view, siting London's main airport at Heathrow was something of a folly. Probably, but I'm not sure there was a good place to site a major four-runway airport anywhere convenient for London. London didn't have the Denver option. |
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