HM Government

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has today (24 October 2017) set out the next stage of delivering a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

The government is on track to publish final proposals for expansion at Heathrow in the first half of 2018 for a vote in Parliament.

Now the public have until 19 December to consider and respond to new evidence in the revised draft Airports National Policy Statement, including long term aviation forecasts and the new government National air quality plan.

Once MPs approve the final document, it will set the planning policy framework which the airport needs in order to bring forward a planning application for the new north-west runway.

An expanded Heathrow Airport would be more accessible to the rest of the country thanks to HS2, Crossrail and at least 6 more domestic flight routes.

Key benefits of a new Heathrow runway are expected to be:

• a £74 billion benefit to passengers and the wider UK economy over 60 years
• tens of thousands of additional local jobs by 2030
• an additional 260,000 flights a year, with an extra 16 million long haul seats for passengers travelling from UK airports in 2040
• reduced fares, fewer delays and more daily destinations for passengers

Benefits of Heathrow Airport expansion

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

Airport expansion is one of the most important type of infrastructure project for the UK – both in boosting our economy and jobs and promoting us on the world stage.

Leaving the EU is a new chapter for Britain and provides us with a great opportunity to forge a new role in the world. We are determined to seize that opportunity and having the right infrastructure in place will allow us to build a more global Britain.

The case for expanding Heathrow is as strong as ever and we want to hear your views on it. This is an important consultation and I encourage everybody to get involved across the UK.

On 25 October 2016, the Transport Secretary confirmed that the government’s preferred scheme for adding new runway capacity in the south-east was through a new north-west runway at Heathrow Airport.

This preference was reached in the interests of the whole of the UK and would make sure Britain has the connections it needs to thrive in the global market, sending a clear signal that Britain is open for business.

Heathrow is already the UK’s biggest freight port by value and a new runway would provide a post-Brexit boost for exports. Heathrow’s expansion would open up new links between the UK and markets around the world. It would connect UK goods and services to global customers and make the UK a more attractive location for inward investment.

Expansion at Heathrow is also an opportunity to strengthen the frequency of existing domestic routes and develop new domestic connections from regional airports to London and new global markets.

A third runway will double freight capacity at the airport and allow businesses across the country the opportunity to boost their exports.

Heathrow Airport will be more accessible to the Midlands and the North of England thanks to HS2 via the interchange at Old Oak Common from 2026.

Have your say on Heathrow Airport expansion

The revised draft Airports National Policy Statement sets the planning policy framework which an applicant would have to comply with in order to get development consent for building a new north-west runway, including:

• delivering at least 6 more domestic routes across the UK by 2030
• providing a world-class package of support for communities affected, including noise insulation for homes and schools
• setting legally binding noise targets, periods of predictable respite and a ban of 6 and a half hours on scheduled night flights
• paying home owners 25% above market value rate plus costs for the compulsory purchase of their homes if needed to make way for the new runway

We are also building on Heathrow’s pledges on compensation to put forward a world-class package worth up to £2.6 billion. This will include fully noise insulating homes, schools and community building most affected by noise and a Community Compensation Fund which could raise up to £50 million per year.

Planning consent will only be granted if the new runway can be delivered in accordance with our air quality and climate change obligations.

The Transport Secretary has also made airport noise for communities a top priority and will now have the power to review any changes to flight paths where they are of national significance.

He also launched the Independent Commission for Civil Aviation Noise (ICCAN) to give communities confidence that any proposed airspace changes appropriately consider the impact of aviation noise.

The measures will also enable greater use of new technology to manage airspace more effectively – helping tackle delays, cut emissions and reduce the need for stacking above our busiest airports.

The revised draft Airports National Policy Statement is still subject to Parliamentary scrutiny by a Select Committee. This can be conducted concurrently with the consultation announced today.

Only after Select Committee scrutiny is complete will any final Airports National Policy Statement be laid before Parliament for debate and the opportunity for a vote in the House of Commons.

Following designation of the Airports National Policy Statement, Heathrow Airport would be expected to submit a development consent application to the Planning Inspectorate.

As part of this process, the airport will have to consult with local communities on the detailed proposals of its scheme.

The Planning Inspectorate, taking on board representations from communities, will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Transport on whether planning consent should be granted for the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme.

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This time last year, the government selected a new north-west runway at Heathrow as its preferred scheme for delivering much-needed new airport capacity in the south-east. This was a move made in the national interest – to spread the opportunity to travel and trade throughout the UK, through more flights between our global aviation hub and our regional airports.

In the last 12 months we have published a draft Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), and been listening to views through a major consultation exercise. We have also published a new National air quality plan and taken steps to address the impact of noise around our airports, which are set out below. Heathrow Airport themselves have been working with airlines to bring down the cost of the proposed scheme, in line with the ambition I set out to keep landing charges as close as possible to current levels. Now that the select committee has been reconstituted, we remain on track to bring forward a final Airports National Policy Statement for a vote in this House in the first half of next year.

Today (24 March 2017) I am publishing updated aviation demand forecasts which show that the need for additional runway capacity is even greater than originally thought. They show that all 5 of London’s main airports will be completely full by the mid-2030s, and 4 of them within a decade. Crucially, they also show us that the north-west runway scheme at Heathrow is the one which delivers the greatest benefits soonest. In addition, it continues to offer the greatest choice in terms of destinations and frequency of vital long-haul routes. Heathrow handles more freight by value than all other UK airports combined and it has superior connections to the rest of the UK through road, rail and domestic flights.

Today I am beginning a short period of consultation on the revised draft Airports NPS to allow people to consider these updated forecasts, alongside other new evidence which was unavailable at the time of the initial consultation. This includes the National air quality plan which was published in July 2017. Updated analysis of this shows that the Heathrow north-west runway scheme can be delivered without the UK breaching its air quality obligations. We will continue to ensure that if expansion goes ahead at Heathrow, it is delivered according to air quality obligations through a suitable package of mitigation and policy measures.

This period of consultation will focus on those elements of the draft Airports NPS affected by the updated evidence and will run for 8 weeks until 19th December. I have asked Sir Jeremy Sullivan to continue in his role as an independent adviser to oversee this process, and I am grateful to him for his work.

The revised draft Airports NPS has been laid in the library of the House and will also receive select committee scrutiny. The recommendations they make will be an important consideration as we move forward. As required by section 9(6) of the(Planning Act 2008, I am specifying a ‘relevant period’ for Parliamentary scrutiny. This will start today and end on 23 March 2018.

Alongside this, our work to develop a new aviation strategy will look beyond a potential new runway at Heathrow, and will set out an ambitious long-term vision for the sector, which will support economic growth across the whole of the UK. In addition to considering how we can make best use of existing capacity at all airports around the country, it will look at any future need for new capacity away from Heathrow, whilst tackling environmental impacts.

The impact of noise from aircraft is a national issue, and alongside the initial consultation on the draft Airports NPS, we also consulted on proposals to support modernisation of the way UK airspace is managed. Today I am also publishing the response to that consultation, and confirm we will be establishing a new independent noise body to ensure communities around our airports have a say in airspace changes which may affect them. Along with a new call-in power for the Secretary of State for Transport on airspace changes of national importance, this is designed to rebuild the trust lost in the industry by communities and provide democratic accountability for the most significant decisions.

In addition, the measures I am outlining today will enable us to make much greater use of new technology, giving us the ability to manage our airspace more effectively to tackle delays, cut emissions and reduce the need for stacking above our busiest airports. They will also help support the airspace changes we need in our skies to meet future demand – including a potential third runway at Heathrow.

Today’s announcement marks another important step as we work to ensure the UK has the connectivity we need right now to lead on the world stage.

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Highways England announced the preferred route for the dualling of a 30 mile section of the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester.

The move for the £179 million scheme follows the recent announcement of the preferred route for the £1.6 billion upgrade of the A303 further up the road near Stonehenge.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

The government is taking the big decisions for Britain’s future and investing in the biggest roads upgrade in a generation.

Our major upgrade to the A303, linking the M3 in the south-east and the M5 in the south-west, will create an expressway to boost the regional economy and provide better transport links.

As part of this work, the £179 million upgrade between Sparkford and Ilchester will cut congestion, reduce journey times and improve safety for all road users.

Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England chief executive, said:

The A303 is a vital route between the South West and the rest of the country and this upgrade is absolutely necessary to provide much needed capacity and to relieve the congestion which drivers have suffered for years.

People who responded to our consultation earlier this year demonstrated strong support for option one, which closely follows the route of the existing A303 and so would have less impact on the rural setting.

We now look forward to continue to work with our partners and the local community to develop more detailed proposals to start construction in 2020.

In the meantime, we invite visitors to our planned drop-in sessions where we can discuss the preferred route with those interested.

As part of its £15bn investment in motorways and main ‘A’ roads the Government is committed to upgrading all remaining sections of the A303 between the M3 and M5 to dual carriageway standard, starting with three schemes: those on the A303 at Stonehenge and between Sparkford and Ilchester, and the third on the A358 between Taunton and Southfields.

Two options for the three-mile section between Sparkford and Ilchester were consulted on earlier this year. The preferred route will support the local economy to grow by making the area more accessible for both tourism and business.

The proposed route will offer a high quality dual carriageway with new two-level junction access with local roads and communities. The proposal will protect biodiversity and road users would benefit from the shorter route.

It will improve local access for pedestrians, equestrians and cyclists.

Formal consultation is due to take place early next year along with the submission of a development consent order planning application.

Two public drop-in events where people can view the preferred route and talk to our project experts will be held at:

• Haynes Motor Museum, Wolverlands, Sparkford, Yeovil BA22 7LH Tuesday 7 November 2017 3pm to 7pm
• Haynes Motor Museum, Wolverlands, Sparkford, Yeovil BA22 7LH Friday 10 November 2017 3pm to 7pm

Copies of the preferred route plans and supporting reports will also be available at the following local information points from Tuesday 24 October:

Public Information Points

• Wincanton Library, 7 Carrington Way, Wincanton, Somerset, BA9 9JS Barrington Court, Barrington, Ilminster, TA19 0NQ
• Yeovil Library, King George Street, Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 1PZ Lytes Cary Manor, near Somerton, Somerset, TA11 7HU
• South Petherton Library, St. James Street, South Petherton, Somerset, TA13 5BS Montacute House, Montacute, TA15 6XP
• Taunton Library, Paul Street, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 3XZ Somerset County Council, County Hall, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4DY
• Martock Library, The Shopping Centre, Martock, Somerset, TA12 6DL South Somerset District Council, Brympton Way, Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 2HT

More information about the preferred route can be viewed on the scheme website.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

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Be prepared for the unexpected is the stark warning from volunteer flood wardens in Calderdale.

Katie Kimber is one of two Environment Agency flood wardens in a newly formed group set up to help protect residents and businesses in Luddenden Foot and they are looking to recruit more this Autumn.

She lives a row of houses at the bottom of the Calder Valley that has a canal running at the front and a river behind them, with their gardens protected by a high wall. Until Boxing Day 2015 they had never been flooded.

Katie said:

I was completely unprepared. I had only just moved to the area and even though the damage I suffered was minimal compared to houses just a stone throw away it made me determined to be ready for the next time.

The mother of two children, aged 12 and 15, now has a flood plan for her own property and has helped set up a flood container for her local community kitted out with sandbags, Floodsax, brushes, spades, gulley cleaners, wheelbarrows, gloves and hand hygiene gel – all the provisions needed for clean-up operations.

Katie has recently attended a sessions with Calder Valley Search and Rescue where the team demonstrated the dangers of water and how to keep safe during a flood event. She has worked with her husband to develop an app called Flood Aware for tracking water levels in the local area. Her role is to work with the Environment Agency to provide them with valuable local knowledge about what is happening on the ground and to support her community in the event of a flood – particularly older and vulnerable people living in the hamlet.

Her advice to all residents is to make sure they have measures in place to protect their own property, sign up for the Environment Agency weather warnings and flood alerts available by email, text and phone, check what the warnings mean and what they should do, keep a close eye on the weather outside and the levels of nearby rivers, particularly during prolonged, heavy rain.

Katie, whose day job is working for Watermark Flood Fund Calderdale, a Community Foundation For Calderdale project which raises money to provide grants in case of future flooding and provides public relations support for Landlines and Watermarks – a unique community arts project with a water theme – said:

Expect the unexpected, have FloodSax or something similar ready under your sink and an emergency bag full of essentials such as a change of clothes, wellies, mobile phone, snacks. Even if you feel silly knock on your neighbour’s door if you have any concerns.

A positive to come out of the recent flooding incident is we have become a very close-knit community, we know and look out for each other.

Karl Boggis, father of two young boys, joined the Mytholmroyd flood group shortly after there were two flood events just two weeks apart in his village in 2012. The group has developed from being a small local pressure group to being the ‘eyes and ears’ of organisations such as the Environment Agency (EA) with 22 active volunteer wardens covering eight zones. The flood wardens receive early warnings of bad weather on the horizon from the EA’s duty officer and one of group’s first tasks is to set up a communications cell in one of their living rooms to provide people of Mytholmroyd with regular updates using their Facebook Group about all flood related activity.

Karl is part of the Mytholmroyd flood group

They communicate with each other using radios, visit neighbours to ask them to move any cars at risk and move property upstairs to safety, help evacuate local schools if necessary and will direct traffic to keep it out of flood water.

Karl, a town councillor and former town Mayor, said:

We know all the hot spots now, which areas are more at risk of flooding so we visit them first to check everything is OK and make them aware of the likelihood of bad weather. We have evacuation plans for some houses, check drains and gullies to make sure they are not blocked. When necessary, we will open up the cabin store in Mytholmroyd for people to collect sandbags.

A lot of our work is through effective communications and making sure people don’t panic. We ask people to stay at home, turn their radios on and if they have elderly neighbours please check on them.

As part of my role I visit people in my local community to introduce myself as their flood warden so they know who to contact if they have a problem. Most of our hard work is actually to help people clear up after a flood.

Karl, a property developer who also works part-time in a utility warehouse distributor, had six of his seven properties badly damaged during the Boxing Day floods with water reaching 10ft in his own house. He said:

Sometimes we do get alerted to bad weather and it doesn’t materialise which does make people complacent. However, the effects of floods are so devastating it is much better to be warned and be safe than sorry.

All flood wardens in Calderdale are being encouraged to take part in an exercise to test their flood plans on the 20th October to coincide with the Upper Calder flood sirens being sounded as part an annual test.

When asked what qualities you need to be a flood warden Karl said:

You need plenty of community spirit, a desire to help and good local knowledge helps.

Jon Follows, flood resilience officer with the Environment Agency, said:

The local knowledge flood wardens can provide on the ground is invaluable. They complement our work by implementing their community action plans and offer a key point of contact for us to be able to warn and inform people.

These days with climate change our weather is becoming even more unpredictable and so it’s vital for communities at risk to protect themselves by signing up for free flood warnings, and prepare a flood plan.

1 in 6 properties in England are at risk of flooding – that’s almost 5 million people. A big worry is that only about half of the people who are in a flood risk area, actually know about it.

Jon’s advice is to start by taking three simple steps to help protect you, your family and home from the devastating effects flooding:

On Boxing Day 2015 around 370 properties were flooded in Mytholmroyd as extreme rainfall affected the upper Calder Valley. Since then, Environment Agency teams have carried out thousands of inspections, made crucial repairs and constructed temporary defences. A flood action plan for the town was published in May 2016 setting out plans for permanent improvements to flood protection.

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Plans for the new dual carriageway – between Windy Harbour and Skippool – were unveiled today as part of Highways England’s preferred route announcement (PRA) for the project which is part of the Government’s £15 billion Road Investment Strategy (RIS).

Roads Minister Jesse Norman said:

The Government is taking major decisions for Britain’s future and delivering the largest roads upgrade in a generation.

The £100 million new bypass along the A585 near Poulton-le-Fylde will boost the regional economy as well as reduce congestion and cut journey times for drivers.

The 2.7 mile Windy Harbour to Skippool section is one of the busiest and most congested along the 11.5 mile road which links Fleetwood to the M55. The Shard and Little Singleton junctions are particular congestion bottlenecks.

The announcement follows last year’s consultation – in which 78 percent of people and both Fylde and Wyre councils backed the bypass option over an alternative to improve the existing single carriageway road.

Highways England project manager David Hopkin said:

We are delighted to announce we have decided to take the Southern Bypass option forward. It was comfortably the most popular option in a consultation in which almost everyone agreed that something needs to be done about congestion along this section of the A585.

The new road will help secure and improve opportunities for housing and jobs in this part of Lancashire and contribute to improved connections to the whole of the motorway network.

Work to construct the new road could start in early 2020 but the bypass is subject to a statutory consultation.

Highways England also revealed today it is continuing to consider options for the Garstang New Road junction. Another idea to link the new bypass to Shard Road which was raised by local people during the consultation will also be investigated.

More details of the consultation report and today’s announcement are available on the scheme website.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

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