Heathrow won a Supreme Court battle for expansion in December 2020, but costs have ballooned since and it has still not submitted a DCO. An industry figure, granted anonymity like others in this piece to speak frankly, said they believe Heathrow has a plan “ready to go,” but needs a strong political steer given past setbacks. But even then, the application process would still take years. A second industry figure said: “The airport works as it is … the view is that a third runway would be a good thing for the country and businesses, but everyone’s seen this show before so there is a need to get enough political support.”
Parliament backed the principle of a third Heathrow runway in 2018 — but expansion has been held up by court battles, environmentalists and constituency interests. Labour officials have little idea how many of the party’s own MPs will rebel if another vote is held, as some advisers expect.
Labour’s 2024 landslide, though — and the hordes of young, pro-growth, loyal MPs it ushered in — means commercial realities and the slow march of time are likely to be bigger blockers than the parliamentary party. Gatwick’s DCO has taken 18 months so far.
Build, baby, build
Labour has pledged a conveyor belt of reforms to the planning system — including restricting rights to bring judicial reviews against major infrastructure projects — in a bid to get more major infrastructure built, and meet a self-imposed target of 1.5 million new homes by 2029.
Reeves told the Guardian ahead of the speech that she would back a “zoning scheme,” where areas around train stations (for example) have a presumption in favor of development. But the details of how this will all work have yet to be decided.
An overnight press release from the Treasury is littered with announcements to get building, including that the Environment Agency has lifted objections to a 4,500-home development in Cambridge, and that water firms will be allowed to build nine new reservoirs. Science Minister Patrick Vallance, who met Reeves in the Treasury on Monday, is an “Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor champion.”
