New Government cancels Heathrow's third runway plans

[Gill Catton]

Yes I'm a bit worried that their cancelling of expansion plans is about clearing the way forward for Boris's pet project to build an airport at the mouth of the thames - right in the path of thousands of migrating waders and wildfowl.....

[loripo]

Or that this will mean they decide that the Chiltern railway expansion is 'absolutely vital'

[Pyrrhocorax]

Sounds to me like a new government, looking to save money & gain easy win popularity.
So I'm not yet ready to swing to the right, but at least in itself this is good news & we should be pleased.
But please please please dont let the Thames Estuary idea come to life, that would be far worse.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Pyrrhocorax

Sounds to me like a new government, looking to save money & gain easy win popularity.
So I'm not yet ready to swing to the right, but at least in itself this is good news & we should be pleased.
But please please please dont let the Thames Estuary idea come to life, that would be far worse.

they wont do that - it would cost far too much , and they want to cut public spending not increase it

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Pyrrhocorax Sounds to me like a new government, looking to save money & gain easy win popularity. So I'm not yet ready to swing to the right, but at least in itself this is good news & we should be pleased. But please please please dont let the Thames Estuary idea come to life, that would be far worse.

Originally Posted by eeyore

they wont do that - it would cost far too much , and they want to cut public spending not increase it

Where does public money come into the equation ? Airport development is about the interleaved interests of the aircraft industry and building developers. The economic downturn has put a break on both these interests but as soon as income starts flowing again the pressure to develop will return. That will entail not simply the demnd to accomodate more passengers/planes but all commercial built development - hotels, retail and speculative housing.

The demand for additional runway space will be used as a trojan horse to justify future large scale green field development, unless such development is expressly rejected at Government level. The conception for this kind of development is judge on global standards and the scale of concept for new SE England capacity will be anything up to Kansai island or even the Dubai madness. With the likelihood of a chronically depressed UK economy and high unemployment over the next 5 - 10 years, any UK Government is going to be very tempted by an offer of influx of foreign capital provided to underwrite big construction projects. It is be the very fact of poor Government finances that increases vulnerability to environmentally damaging projects being given the go ahead.

CM