Sir Paul Beresford, MP for Mole Valley, has welcomed the Airports Commission’s endorsement of Heathrow as the location for the UK’s new runway. The news that Gatwick has been wholly rejected by the Commission was welcomed by Sir Paul who said “Mole Valley’s green spaces, its core services and its unique character are all safer as a result of this decision. Reason and logic have prevailed over a sharp PR campaign by GAL.”
In addition Sir Paul commented that “The Airports Commission has made a clear decision in the national interest. The Commission was faced with a choice between a strong business case for Heathrow and an economically weak and practically inadequate case for Gatwick: a choice between around £100 billion greater national economic benefit and four times more new jobs spread across the UK flowing from Heathrow versus Gatwick which lacks resilient surface transport infrastructure and any available local labour force to staff the airport. Unsurprising, the Commission has found in favour of Heathrow, the significantly better option for Britain. The report clearly shows that Heathrow can expand whilst meeting the key economic, infrastructure and environmental tests. The case for Gatwick is hopefully dead and buried.”
Referring to the noise blight which has been so damaging to resident’s quality of life over the past year Sir Paul noted that “the good news received today on the second runway of course goes hand in hand with the positive progress made with the CAA in changing the deeply harmful new flight paths back to something far closer to what was in existence previously. I am confident that we will see movement on this by the end of the summer.”
Sir Paul now calls on the Prime Minister to swiftly accept the Commission’s recommendation, to end any further uncertainty, and to get on with providing the airport capacity Britain needs to compete for trade and investment and to remain an important aviation hub in the twenty-first century.
Along with other concerned Conservative MPs of the Gatwick Coordination Group (Chaired by Reigate MP Crispin Blunt) Sir Paul is also calling on the Prime Minister to ensure the Government’s consideration is free of individual constituency interests of senior ministers and solely and transparently in the national interest.
Sounding a word of caution Sir Paul concluded by noting that “while the decision today is extremely encouraging and looks likely to be the defining moment in this long running debate, the fight is not yet over. The Government must recognise economic and social interest and support the Heathrow recommendation of the Commission. I will be working up until the very moment Heathrow is chosen for expansion.”