Business
Heathrow’s plan for longer third runway chosen by government
Heathrow Airport’s plan for a third runway, which involves moving the M25 motorway, has been chosen by the government.
Two plans had been under consideration – one from the airport itself, and another from Arora Group, led by hotel tycoon Surinder Arora.
Heathrow had proposed a new runway which would be up to 3.5km (2.2 miles) long and require a new road tunnel under the airport. The rival bid from Arora Group would have involved a shorter runway at a lower cost, and did not require altering the M25.
A final decision on whether a third runway will get the green light is still years away.
Last month, the government asked for further information to help choose between the Heathrow and Arora schemes.
The Department for Transport said Heathrow’s own proposal offered the most deliverable option, and the “greatest likelihood” of getting a decision on planning approval within this parliament.
The plan that has been backed will inform the government’s review of the Airports National Policy Statement.
Once that is complete, Heathrow is expected to apply for planning permission. The government then hopes for a decision by 2029.
But any company will be able to submit an application to build the new runway and terminals at the site.
Heathrow had set out its plans for expansion in the summer. The whole project, which is expected to cost £49bn, includes:
- the new runway, which Heathrow says will increase capacity to 756,000 flights and 150 million passengers a year. It currently serves about 84 million
- a new terminal called T5X, expanding Terminal 2 and three new satellite terminals. It would close Terminal 3
- enhancement of local rail connections and improvements to Heathrow’s bus and coach stations
- diversion of the M25, which would involve a new road tunnel under the airport, and widening the motorway between junctions 14-15
The Arora Group said it accepted the government’s choice, adding it welcomed the decision to leave the option open for other firms to bid for the work.
“It’s imperative there is a clear and transparent process for selecting a promoter to ensure it best serves the interests of consumers,” the group said.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said Heathrow was the UK’s only hub airport that supported trade, tourism and jobs.
“Today is another important step to enable a third runway and build on these benefits, setting the direction for the remainder of our work to get the policy framework in place for airport expansion,” she said.
“This will allow a decision on a third runway plan this parliament which meets our key tests including on the environment and economic growth.”
When Heathrow had set out its plans in the summer, it said expansion was urgently needed as the airport was working at capacity, “to the detriment of trade and connectivity”.
Business groups had also backed the expansion, saying it would bring benefits for businesses and exporters, by opening up access to markets and encouraging investment.
The government has already approved a string of other airport expansion plans, including a second runway at Gatwick Airport.
However, the Heathrow plans face opposition from environmental groups, politicians, and local residents.
Tony Bosworth, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said the plan would mean “more noise and air pollution for local communities”.
“Expanding Heathrow simply isn’t compatible with our legally binding climate targets, even if the government meets its hugely optimistic assumptions for emerging technologies, such as sustainable aviation fuels,” he said
Justine Bayley, who lives in Harmondsworth, says her house would be 50 paces from the boundary of the new airport, making her home effectively uninhabitable.
“Unless both Heathrow and the government say black is white, I don’t believe they can actually demonstrate that the benefits of this and the lack of pollution and greenhouse gases and all the rest of it are within acceptable limits,” she told the BBC.
The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, said he thought the government’s backing of a new runway was a mistake.
“I want a better Heathrow, not a bigger one… I’m unclear how you get a new runway at Heathrow and it doesn’t cause environmental damage, noise pollution, air pollution being exacerbated.”
In reaching its decision, the government said that Heathrow’s runway plan was better developed and, while it required “major works” to the M25, the rival Arora scheme would also have had a “considerable impact” on the motorway.
It added that while the Heathrow proposal requires more land, it involves the acquisition of fewer houses around the airport than Arora’s plan.
The government also said the longer runway would provide “greater resilience and potential futureproofing for next-generation aircraft”.
A spokesperson for Heathrow welcomed the decision but said it needed “clarity as to how the crucial next phase of the project will be regulated”.
The airport is seeking reassurance that it will be allowed to increase its fees by enough to cover the cost of the planning application, which it says it will have to start very soon to meet the government’s timetable.
Earlier this month, the chief executive of British Airways, Sean Doyle, told industry members and MPs that Heathrow should be expanded without moving the M25.
“I think we should look at ways of potentially building a shorter runway,” he said.
Some airlines are concerned that the cost of building the third runway will make the airport more expensive for them, and ultimately for customers.
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
JSW Jetour T2 Launch: JSW Motors Limited, the passenger vehicle arm of the JSW Group, is reportedly preparing to enter the Indian car market this year. It has partnered with Jetour, a China-based automotive brand owned by Chery Automobile, and the Jetour T2 SUV could be the company’s first product, according to the reports.
Media reports suggest that the launch will happen independently and not under the JSW MG Motor India joint venture. The SUV will wear a JSW badge and name, instead of the Jetour branding. The upcoming SUV will be assembled at JSW’s upcoming greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra.
According to the reports, the company plans to have the vehicle on sale by the third quarter of this year. With this move, JSW aims to establish itself as a standalone carmaker in India.
Expected Powertrain
The SUV is likely to arrive with a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid setup. Internationally, this hybrid powertrain is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options. It is still unclear which version will be introduced in India.
Design
In terms of design, the T2 is a large and rugged-looking SUV. It has a boxy and upright stance, similar to vehicles like the Land Rover Defender. Despite its tough appearance, it uses a monocoque chassis instead of a ladder-frame construction.
Size
The SUV measures around 4.7 metres in length and nearly 2 metres in width. This makes it larger than the Tata Safari, even though it is a five-seater. A longer 7-seat version is also sold in some markets.
Price
Pricing details for India are yet to be announced. For reference, the front-wheel-drive five-seat T2 i-DM is priced at AED 1,44,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) in the UAE.
Jetour
Jetour is a brand owned by Chinese automaker Chery. Launched in 2018, it focuses mainly on SUVs and is present in markets across China, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
John Swinney has been pressed over whether this week’s Scottish Budget gives some workers the “smallest tax cut in history” – with Tory leader Russell Findlay branding the reduction “miserly” and “insulting”.
The Scottish Conservative leader challenged the First Minister after Tuesday’s Holyrood Budget effectively cut taxes for lower earners, by increasing the threshold for the basic and intermediate bands of income tax.
But Mr Findlay said that would leave workers at most £31.75 a year better off – saying this amounts to a saving of just £61p a week
“That wouldn’t even buy you a bag of peanuts,” the Scottish Tory leader said.
“John Swinney’s Budget might even have broken a world record, because a Scottish Government tax adviser says it ‘maybe the smallest tax cut in history’.”
Raising the “miserly cut” at First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Findlay demanded to know if the SNP leader believed his “insulting tax cut will actually help Scotland’s struggling households”.
The attack came as the Tory accused the SNP government of increasing taxes on higher earners, with its freeze on higher income tax thresholds, which will pull more Scots into these brackets.
This is needed to pay for the “SNP’s out of control, unaffordable benefits bill”, the Conservative added.
Mr Findlay said: “The Scottish Conservatives will not back and cannot back a Budget that does nothing to help Scotland’s workers and businesses.
“It hammers people with higher taxes to fund a bloated benefits system.”
Hitting out at Labour – whose leader Anas Sarwar has already declared they will not block the government’s Budget – Mr Findlay said: “It is absolutely mind-blowing that Labour and other so-called opposition parties will let this SNP boorach of a budget pass.
“Don’t the people of Scotland deserve lower taxes, fairer benefits and a government focused on economic growth?”
Mr Swinney said the Budget “delivers on the priorities of the people of Scotland” by “strengthening our National Health Service and supporting people and businesses with the challenges of the cost of living”.
He insisted income tax decisions in the Budget would mean that in 2026-27 “55% of Scottish taxpayers are now expected to pay less income tax than if they lived in England”.
The First Minister went on to say that showed “the people of Scotland have a Government that is on their side”.
Referring to polls putting his party on course to win the Holyrood elections in May, the SNP leader added that “all the current indications show the people of Scotland want to have this Government here for the long term”.
Benefits funding is “keeping children out of poverty”, he told MSPs, adding the Budget contained a “range of measures” that would build on existing support.
The First Minister said: “What that is a demonstration of is a Government that is on the side of the people of Scotland and I am proud of the measures we set out in the Budget on Tuesday.”
Meanwhile he said the Tories wanted to make tax cuts that would cost £1 billion, with “not a scrap of detail about how that would be delivered”.
With the weekly leaders’ question time clash coming less than 48 hours after the draft 2026-27 Budget was unveiled, the First Minister also faced questions from Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar, who insisted that the proposals “lacks ambition for Scotland”.
Pressing his SNP rival, the Scottish Labour leader said: “While he brags about his £6 a year tax cut for the lowest paid, one million Scots including nurses, teachers and police officers face being forced to pay more.
“Even his own tax adviser says this is a political stunt. So why does John Swinney believe that someone earning £33,500 has the broadest shoulders and therefore should pay more tax in Scotland?”
Mr Swinney, however, said that many public sector workers would be better off in Scotland.
He told the Scottish Labour leader: “A band six nurse at the bottom of the scale will take home an additional £1,994 after tax compared to the same band in England.
“A qualified teacher at the bottom of the band will take home £6,365 more after tax in Scotland than the equivalent in England. There are the facts for Mr Sarwar.”
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