Heathrow cleared for take-off? Third (and even FOURTH) runway plans
 

Read all about it here.

Warning: Daily Mail bias

Just as long as someone makes a bloody decision and gets on with it. :)

Zac Goldsmith is, of course, opposed ... as the poor people in his constituency will possibly suffer a little more noise than they do currently, and he would like to be re-elected on a platform of "No More Planes".

Boris johnson has hung his hat on the Estuary Project, and has been so vociferous in his support of the fantasy he can't change position now. please don't cry too loudly when you lose.

But undoubtedly, whichever option is selected, the Court battles and discovery of rare newts/insects/weeds will prolong matters beyond my lifetime.

"Cleared" sounds like it's putting it far too high at this stage. All that this report seems to anticipate is that the Airports Commission will recommend it. That's hardly a surprise in the light of all that's been said in the last few months. The recommendation will simply start the political process that will probably bring out the most fabulous display of NIMBYism that any of us will be lucky to see in our lifetimes.

I get so tired of this.

Hasn't LHR R3 been given a green light many, many times over the last 5 or so years? But we as far away as ever from any actual construction work starting. The British way of handling and authorising large scale public works is farcical. Truly farcical :td:

I'll believe it when I see the first strip of Tarmac been laid.

I will believe it when the first plane takes off and lands.

I reckon HS2 will give it a run for its money re NIMBYism. Lets face it we are now a country that does not want to do anything anymore, and are content for the rest of the world to overtake us.

I am with the " I will believe it when I see it " brigade

There's no question that London needs a four runway hub. Heathrow is not the right position for it.

http://static.progressivemediagroup....ary/thames.jpg

I'd have to agree with you.

The thing about HS2 is that its becoming more of an either/or with the 3rd runway. I believe the HS2 NIMBYs are just as nasty if not nastier than the Runway 3 NIMBYs as the political class realises one or other of them will have to happen to please the business lobby the pressure is on for them to decide which set of NIMBYs is worse.
I would like both but think a third runway is a better solution. A third and fourth is even better.
Apparently Davies was going to have just a third and fourth runway in his interim report on Tuesday and discuss which is the best place to locate the next runway but George Osbourne and the politicians came in and tried to hijack the report to include other options.

A third runway is the only option. They all know it. Ed Balls is a huge supporter of a third runway and is trying to bully Ed Miliband who is a massive opponent of it to add it the 2015 Labour manifesto. Ed Balls apparently had Angela Eagle sacked as shadow transport secretary because she was against a third runway. Good for him.

David Cameron, George Osborne and most Tories know a third runway is the only option and are planning to support it after 2015. They are just too scared atm to admit it.

Politicians suck.

In the long term you are correct.

However a third runway is needed as a sticking plaster solution whilst a six runway hub in the North Sea is constructed.

This LHR nonsense has become a famous British pastime worldwide. We have become a laughing stock. Either way a decision and development will still leave the UK woefully behind the curve.
We simply lack the balls and/or capital to move forward. Put frankly, reinvesting in the armed forces would see better a better future for this expenditure. Until a U-turn on APD comes into play any expansion is fruitless apart from Cargo movements.

One of the options for HS2 is a link with Heathrow. IMO these decisions are not independent of each other as Heathrow increases the business case for HS2.

Whether it's Heathrow, Boris Island, Stansted, LGW- it doesn't matter that much too me. The only thing that matters and that we must surely all agree on is (1) extra capacity is needed (lots); (2) It is needed now and (3) we have been messing around for far too long whilst eveyone else got their act together long ago. Some people will obviously be put out by whichever expansion takes place, but the good of the Country must take precedence. Now for heaven's sake can we please get on with it.