Build Magazine July 2015

Build Magazine 18 n an open letter to David Cameron the business heads demanded that he obey a recent recommendation by the Airports Commission, which decreed that ‘expanded airport capacity is crucial for the UK’s long- term prosperity’. The report goes on to state that despite ana- lysing three schemes for this expansion ‘the Commission has unanimously concluded that the proposal for a new northwest runway at Heathrow Airport, combined with a significant package of measures to address its environ- mental and community impacts, presents the strongest case and offers the greatest strategic and economic benefits’. The scheme would enable expansion to take place with minimal loss of homes and delivers fairly similar economic benefits to the other schemes. The Prime Minister set up the Commission in 2012 to find the best way to maintain the UK’s status as an aviation hub, which they have attempted by recommending the expan- sion which would they estimate would provide around 40 new destinations from the airport and more than 70,000 new jobs by 2050. Cameron stated in a recent Prime Minister’s Question Time that he required time to digest the report’s findings and would make a decision on the airport expansion by the end of this year. ‘I think that there is a lot of common ground across almost all parts of the House that there is the need for ad- ditional airport capacity in the south- east of England, not least to maintain this country’s competitiveness, but it is important that we now study this very detailed report. I am very clear about the legal position; if we say an- ything now before studying the report, we could actually endanger whatever decision is made. The guarantee that I can give the right hon. and learned Lady is that a decision will be made by the end of the year.’ This non-committal answer does not offer any definitive proof that Cameron will actually allow the expansion to take place, which has led to business leaders writing an open letter urging him to make the expansion happen for the sake of the UK economy. The open letter to the Prime Minster urged him to act on the report’s advice for the sake of UK businesses and industries. Heath-Row? 270 business leaders have pleaded with the Prime Minster to expand on the airport which could provide boost to aviation construction sector. I