Rachel Reeves says third runway at Heathrow could be built and in use by 2035
Rachel Reeves says third runway at Heathrow could be built and in use by 2035
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Heathrow's third runway could be built and in use by 2035, Rachel Reeves has signalled. Asked for a timeline on the plans, which she backed on Wednesday, the Chancellor told BBC Breakfast: "We want to see spades in the ground in this Parliament. "We have asked Heathrow to come forward with plans by this summer, and then we want to grant that development consent order by the end of this Parliament, so we can get the diggers in the ground to get this project up and running.".
Ms Reeves said reforming the planning system would meanwhile "make it easier to build big infrastructure projects, like a third runway at Heathrow". Pressed when flights would take off from the airport, the Chancellor added: "I think we can get that done in a decade.".
Asked if this meant planes would be using the new runway by 2035, Ms Reeves responded: "That is what we want to achieve and that is what Heathrow wants to achieve.". The third runway plans received parliamentary approval in June 2018, but the airport would need to apply for a Development Consent Order to go ahead with the project.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary described the Heathrow expansion as “a dead cat” that would not happen before the 2040s at the earliest. “If it ever arrives, it will be about 2040, 2045 or 2050, in fact long after I’ve departed from Ryanair,” he said. ““It will not deliver any growth.”.
