The recommendation by Sir Howard Davies was one that was important for SEGRO, its customers and Britain.
Three years after the Airports Commission was established, it has recommended to the government that a third runway at Heathrow Airport should be built.
We welcome the decision to expand at Heathrow. We have long argued that for Britain to succeed in the global economy, we need new hub capacity and that means building a third runway at the UK’s only hub airport.
In its report, the commission recognised that Heathrow presents the strongest case for airport expansion and offers the greatest strategic and economic benefits. The report said the scheme would provide around 40 new destinations from the airport and more than 70,000 new jobs by 2050. It also said the new capacity needed to be combined with a significant package of measures to address its environmental and community impacts and concluded that expanded airport capacity was “crucial for the UK’s long-term prosperity”.
We have worked hard to represent the voice of our customers since the commission was set up and undertook our own independent research as part of our final submission to the Airports Commission. Some 84% of respondents to the customer survey said their preferred option for expansion was at Heathrow.
The world economy is changing. Over the next decade, approximately half of the global economic growth will come from the eight largest emerging market countries. UK businesses must be able to reach the emerging and developing economies in Asia, South America and Africa, but without the links from the UK, they are at risk of being cut off.
We have been falling behind our international competitors for too long, as new direct routes to these emerging markets have continued to grow from other European and Middle Eastern competitor hubs. Now it is time to get on and build the runway to maintain Britain’s position as a global trade partner.
The airport plays a pivotal role in the export of the UK’s world-class service sector and is also Britain’s premier air freight hub with 40% of the value of all the country’s exports already being transported in the bellyholds of planes leaving Heathrow.
Backing expansion at Heathrow means the UK will remain a global economic power, operating seamlessly for business, helping exporters to grow and attracting inward investment. Its benefits will be felt across the country, with greater capacity at Heathrow enabling better regional connectivity as well as supporting jobs across Britain.
Now the government needs to back Sir Howard’s recommendation and let Heathrow get on with building the new runway as quickly as possible.
David Sleath is chief executive of SEGRO
