London to get new runways

The Government today backed a third runway at Heathrow - and it could be open within 12 years.

In a second shock move, Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said land should be kept in reserve at Gatwick for a second runway which could be built by the mid-2020s.

The plans for expansion of London's two key airports came as Mr Darling published his aviation White Paper and gave the goahead for a second runway at Stansted, which should be in operation by 2012.

The dramatic expansion of airport capacity around London today sent shockwaves through campaigners who had expected the third runway scheme at Heathrow to be ditched - and had no inkling Gatwick would be affected.

But it was warmly welcomed by airlines, including British Airways, which had threatened to go to court if expansion at Heathrow had been prevented.

The third runway will only be built when Heathrow cuts its emissions of dangerous pollutants including nitrogen dioxide.

Ministers are to draw up plans next year to help airport operators tackle the pollution problem with a series of measures which are almost certain to include congestion charging for drivers at the airport.

For the first time airlines using planes with the worst emissions of pollutants will be charged more for landing, but Mr Darling ruled out any increase in passenger tax to cut demand for flying, saying it was a "blunt instrument".

Mr Darling told the Commons: "Some of our major airports are already close to capacity, so failure to allow for increased capacity could have serious economic consequences.

"But that must be balanced by the need to have regard to the environmental consequences of air travel."

He said two new runways were vital in the South-East by 2030 and added: "The first new runway in the South-East should be developed as soon as possible at Stansted, expected to be opening around 2011 or 2012.

There was "a strong economic case" for another runway at Heathrow in about 2015 or 2020 - "once we can be confident that the key condition in relation to compliance with air quality limits can be met".

He added: "It is essential we plan ahead now - our future prosperity depends on it."

For the Conservatives, transport spokesman Theresa May accused Mr Darling of botching the research.

"His department's failures mean there will be legal challenges, thus blighting the lives of people condemned to years of uncertainty," she said.

"What the British people and the airport industry want is certainty for the future of aviation. Now, they have been condemned to uncertainty."

The plan for Heathrow will allow airport operator BAA to build a third, shorter runway, to the north of the existing pair.

It is also likely to get the goahead for a sixth terminal - which will be on top of Terminal 5, now being built.

The new runway will increase capacity at the airport drastically, allowing it to handle 116 million passengers a year by 2030, compared with 64 million in 2000.

A quarter of the village of Harmondsworth - including its grade I listed tithe barn and eight grade II listed houses - would disappear.

BAA would also be ordered to buy the houses lived in by 13,000 people who would be subject to noise above officially tolerable levels.

The plan will only get the goahead if BAA can prove it will not breach binding EU limits on nitrogen dioxide emissions, which would affect 35,000 people - it predicted that this would be possible some time between 2015 and 2020. It is likely to propose a massive upgrade in rail links to Heathrow, with an overground station for trains to the regions as well as extra Heathrow Express services to Paddington.

BAA has been told there will be no motorway upgrades on routes to Heathrow - meaning the M4 bus lane will stay.

But the airports firm will first have to fund and build the £4 billion Stansted second runway, in the teeth of massive local opposition.

As well as building the runway, it will be ordered to pay for much of a new set of rail links, with the White Paper warning that Liverpool Street and the West Anglia main line could become bottlenecks as millions more people flock to Stansted, which will be capable of handling 74 million people a year by 2030.

There will also be an upgrade for the M11, which will have to cope with many more drivers. A congestion charge for access to Stansted has not been ruled out.

The White Paper also unexpectedly opened the way for a second runway at Gatwick, saying it had to keep a reserve option in case it could not beat the pollution problem at Heathrow. Development is banned until 2019 under an agreement with local authorities, and Mr Darling said he would not try to overturn it - but said there was a "strong economic case" for expansion afterwards.

BAA will be ordered to compensate the hundreds of people near Gatwick who will be subject to almost two decades of planning blight.

Mr Darling also backed plans for expansion at Luton, with a runway extension which will triple the number of passengers it can handle to 30 million a year.

He gave the go-ahead to a new runway at Birmingham, terminal expansion at Manchester, possible new runways at Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as upgrades for a string of regional airports.