Heathrow airport delay ‘gutless’, says business group
11 December 2015
From the section Business
Business groups have reacted with anger to the government’s delay in reaching a decision on whether to build a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said it was “gutless”, while another group said it would have business leaders “tearing their hair out”.
They argue that the delay is bad for the UK economy.
But opponents welcomed the government’s plan to wait for further environmental research before making a decision.
No decision will be made before the summer of 2016, it was announced on Thursday.
Three options
A decision had been promised previously by the end of the year.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the government needed to “undertake more work on environmental impacts, including air quality, noise and carbon” before deciding on how best to expand airport capacity in south-east England.
There are three options – a third runway at Heathrow, which business groups favour, a second runway at Gatwick Airport, or extending an existing runway at Heathrow.
In July, an independent report by Sir Howard Davies backed the idea of a third runway at Heathrow, but did not completely rule out the alternatives.
Source:: BBC UK
