Business leaders urge Prime Minister to rethink Heathrow expansion
BUSINESS and political leaders from across the West Midlands have written to the Prime Minister to urge her support in growing a competitive network of airports, rather than developing an expanded hub in West London.
The chief executives of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, Marketing Birmingham and Birmingham Airport, alongside businesses, chambers of commerce, LEPs and parliamentarians put their signatures to a letter (see below) pointing towards the increasingly national role that Birmingham Airport will play with HS2.
The signatories – 29 in total – said they were urging the Government to consider the impact on all UK airports before opting to expand capacity in the South East. This would ensure that there was a competitive market which airports could be major drivers of growth in their respective areas.
They said allowing a third runway at Heathrow would only reinforce the Heathrow monopoly and restrict the growth of direct flights to and from other UK cities.
The letter highlights Birmingham Airport’s role in maximising the benefits of HS2, stating that with HS2’s arrival in 10 years’ time, the airport would become the UK’s first high-speed connected airport and its catchment area would be dramatically enlarged into central London, giving it an increasingly national role.
Paul Faulkner, chief executive at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce – and one of the signatories – said: “Birmingham Airport’s growth and our region’s growth go hand in hand, with the airport plugging our businesses into global opportunities and attracting inward investment.
“We want a decision for the South East’s airport capacity that does not undermine direct connectivity to the Midlands Engine and supports a competitive network of airports, not a larger hub.”
Paul Kehoe, CEO at Birmingham Airport, added that a vibrant Birmingham Airport was vital to the growth of the West Midlands region.
“Expanding Heathrow could threaten to stall the Midlands Engine. In contrast, a competitive network of airports would support the continued growth of our region’s connectivity and would maximise the benefits of HS2,” he said.
The Letter to Prime Minister in full:
Dear Prime Minister,
We write to welcome your backing of the Midlands Engine and to ask you to ensure that the region is not damaged by the forthcoming decision on extra runway capacity in the South East.
The West Midlands is a significant part of the Midlands Engine, an economy worth £222 billion and where, in 2015, private sector jobs grew three times faster than in London and the South East. The West Midlands is home to Birmingham, the UK’s second largest city and to Birmingham Airport, the third largest UK airport outside London. Birmingham Airport plays an integral role in the transport strategy of the Midlands, providing international connectivity to the region’s flourishing manufacturing sector, and supporting the West Midlands’ status as the leading export centre of the UK outside London and the South East.
The connectivity provided by Birmingham Airport contributed £1.1 billion GVA and over 25,000 jobs to the West Midlands economy in 2014. The Airport is a key driver of jobs creation and economic growth, and its contribution to the economy is expected to increase as its connectivity increases. As of this July, the Airport has experienced seventeen consecutive months of passenger growth including 32.8% long haul growth compared to July 2015.
Birmingham Airport is also central to maximising the benefits of HS2. With HS2’s arrival in ten years, the airport will become the UK’s first high-speed connected airport and its catchment area will be dramatically enlarged into central London, giving it an increasingly national role.
To support this continued growth in our region and to maximise the benefits of HS2, it is vital that the Government supports a competitive network of airports across the UK rather than an expanded hub in the South East. Allowing a third runway at Heathrow would re-forge its monopoly, undermining the benefits brought by the break-up of the BAA, and restrict the growth of direct flights to and from our great regional cities.
The Midlands Engine could grow up to £34 billion by 2030 if the government continues to make decisions in view of rebalancing the UK economy. We therefore urge the Government to consider the impact on all UK airports when making its decision on airport capacity in the South East, ensuring that any such decision allows for a competitive market in which airports can act as drivers for local growth in their regions.
Yours sincerely
Paul Faulkner, Chief Executive, Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce
Paul Kehoe, Chief Executive, Birmingham Airport
Steve Brittain, Managing Director, BSA Technologies Ltd.
Jonathan Browning, Chairman, C&W LEP
John Callaghan, Principal, Solihull College
Simon Chapman, Managing Director, Yee Group
Rick Grain, Founder/Owner, Effigy Blinds Ltd.
Colin Leighfield, Director, B.E. Wedge
Tim Pile, Executive Chairman, Cogent Elliot
Neil Rami, Chief Executive, Marketing Birmingham
Bernard Shepherd, Consultant, Clark Brookes Turner Carey Solicitors
Joan Smith, Director, Solihull Chamber of Commerce
Stewart Towe, Chairman, Black Country Consortium (LEP)
Chris Wheeler, Auditel
Adrian Wright, President, Black Country Chamber of Commerce
Ian Austin, Member of Parliament for Dudley North
Jeremy Lefroy, Member of Parliament for Stafford
Karen Lumley, Member of Parliament for Redditch
Khalid Mahmood, Member of Parliament for Birmingham, Perry Barr
Steve McCabe, Member of Parliament for Birmingham, Selly Oak
James Morris, Member of Parliament for Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Rt Hon Gisela Stuart, Member of Parliament for Birmingham, Edgbaston
Mike Wood, Member of Parliament for Dudley South
Valerie Vaz, Member of Parliament for Walsall South
James Carver, Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands
Anthea McIntyre, Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands
Sion Simon, Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands
Baroness Burt of Solihull
Baroness Kramer
