Gatwick second runway decision deadline is extended on green concerns
The government has signalled that plans to bring a second runway at Gatwick into regular use will get the green light if environmental conditions are met.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “minded to approve” the airport’s plans but the deadline for a decision had now been pushed back until the end of October.
The main stumbling blocks facing Gatwick’s proposals are related to its provisions for noise prevention and public transport.
The Planning Inspectorate had made recommendations in those two areas after initially rejecting the scheme.
Money latest: UK’s favourite DIY shops ranked
The airport welcomed the government’s statement but did not say whether it saw a need to adjust its plans to meet the conditions.
Gatwick has until April 24 to respond to the new proposals.
The northern runway already exists at the airport parallel to the main one, but cannot be used at the same time as it is too close.
It is currently limited to being a taxiway and only used for take-offs and landings if the main one has to shut.
Gatwick wants to move it 12 metres further away to solve this problem.
The northern runway is currently only used for emergencies or where the main one is closed. Pic: PA
It says being able to run both at the same time would allow around 100,000 more flights per year and create 14,000 jobs.
Gatwick says the £2.2bn project would not need government money, would be 100% privately funded, and could be complete by the end of the decade.
The airport is already the second busiest in the UK, and the busiest single runway airport in Europe.
Campaigners argue the additional traffic would be catastrophic for the environment and the local community in particular.
Today’s update comes after the chancellor said last month the government also supported a third runway at Heathrow as part of its wider effort to bolster UK economic growth.
However, the formal planning process is still to take place.
Gatwick’s additional runway would be unlikely to open until the end of the decade, assuming any legal challenges were swiftly overcome.
A government source told Sky News: “The transport secretary has set out a path to approving the expansion of Gatwick today following the Planning Inspectorate’s recommendation to refuse the original application.
“This is an important step forward and demonstrates that this government will stop at nothing to deliver economic growth and new infrastructure as part of our Plan for Change.
“Expansion will bring huge benefits for business and represents a victory for holidaymakers. We want to deliver this opportunity in line with our legal, environmental and climate obligations.
“We look forward to Gatwick’s response as they have indicated planes could take off from a new runway before the end of this Parliament.”
Stewart Wingate, Gatwick’s chief executive, said: “We welcome today’s announcement that the Secretary of State for Transport is minded to approve our Northern Runway plans and has outlined a clear pathway to full approval later in the year.
“It is vital that any planning conditions attached to the final approval enable us to make a decision to invest £2.2bn in this project and realise the full benefits of bringing the Northern Runway into routine use.
“We will of course engage fully in the extended process for a final decision.”
He added: “We stand ready to deliver this project which will create 14,000 jobs and generate £1bn a year in economic benefits. By increasing resilience and capacity we can support the UK’s position as a leader in global connectivity and deliver substantial trade and economic growth in the South East and more broadly.
“We have also outlined to government how we plan to grow responsibly to meet increasing passenger demand, while minimising noise and environmental impacts.”
A spokesperson for campaign group Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne) responded: “We welcome the extension by the secretary of state until October as she has obviously recognised the many holes in the Gatwick airport submissions during the planning hearings.
“Cagne do not believe Gatwick has been totally up front with their submissions, and the planning hearings left so many questions unanswered.”
Greenpeace UK’s policy director, Doug Parr, said of the process ahead: “By approving Gatwick’s expansion the government will hang a millstone the size of a 747 around the country’s neck.
“Such a decision would be one that smacks of desperation, completely ignoring the solid evidence that increasing air travel won’t drive economic growth. The only thing it’s set to boost is air pollution, noise, and climate emissions.”
Foreign state investors would be allowed to hold stakes of up to 15% in British national newspapers, ministers are set to announce amid a two-year battle to resolve an impasse over The Daily Telegraph’s ownership.
Sky News has learnt that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport could announce as soon as Thursday that the new limit is to be imposed following a consultation lasting several months.
The decision to set the ownership threshold at 15% follows an intensive lobbying campaign by newspaper industry executives concerned that a permanent outright ban could cut off a vital source of funding to an already-embattled industry.
It would mean that RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi state-backed fund which owns an option to take full ownership of the Telegraph titles, would be able to play a role in the newspapers’ future.
Money blog: £30 broadband rule explained
RedBird Capital, the US-based fund, has already said it is exploring the possibility of taking full control of the Telegraph, while IMI would have – if the status quo had been maintained – forced to relinquish any involvement in the right-leaning broadsheets.
One industry source said they had been told to expect a statement from Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, or another DCMS minister, this week, with the amendment potentially being made in the form of a statutory instrument.
Other than RedBird, a number of suitors for the Telegraph have expressed interest but struggled to raise the funding for a deal.
The most notable of these has been Dovid Efune, owner of The New York Sun, who has been trying for months to raise the £550m sought by RedBird IMI to recoup its outlay.
Another potential offer from Todd Boehly, the Chelsea Football Club co-owner, and media tycoon David Montgomery, has yet to materialise.
RedBird IMI paid £600m in 2023 to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into ownership of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine.
That objective was thwarted by a change in media ownership laws – which banned any form of foreign state ownership – amid an outcry from parliamentarians.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The Spectator was then sold last year for £100m to Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund billionaire, who has installed Lord Gove, the former cabinet minister, as its editor.
The UAE-based IMI, which is controlled by the UAE’s deputy prime minister and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, extended a further £600m to the Barclays to pay off a loan owed to Lloyds Banking Group, with the balance secured against other family-controlled assets.
Other bidders for the Telegraph had included Lord Saatchi, the former advertising mogul, who offered £350m, while Lord Rothermere, the Daily Mail proprietor, pulled out of the bidding last summer amid concerns that he would be blocked on competition grounds.
The Telegraph’s ownership had been left in limbo by a decision taken by Lloyds Banking Group, the principal lender to the Barclay family, to force some of the newspapers’ related corporate entities into a form of insolvency proceedings.
The newspaper auction is being run by Raine Group and Robey Warshaw.
The DCMS declined to comment.
Burberry, the UK’s only global luxury brand, is to cut around 1,700 jobs worldwide over the next two years after reporting a steep financial loss.
The company lost £66m in pre-tax profit in the year ended in March as luxury goods sales fell across the world and the company weathered an “uncertain” environment and a “difficult macroeconomic backdrop”.
A year earlier, it recorded £383m in profit.
Money blog: £30 broadband rule explained
It’s suffered in recent years with the share price falling to such an extent the business was removed from the FTSE 100, the index of most valuable companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Despite the financial performance, the company was upbeat, with chief executive Joshua Schulman saying “I am more optimistic than ever that Burberry’s best days are ahead and that we will deliver sustainable profitable growth over time”.
What cuts are being made?
The retailer did not specify any shop closures – in the past year, it closed 26 and also opened 26 stores – but did highlight shift cuts and consolidations.
“We don’t have a store closing programme, per see,” Mr Schulman told investors
The night shift at Burberry’s Castleford factory will be cut, it proposed, saying the shift has resulted in overproduction.
“Significant” investment in the facility will be made, however, as the ambition is to scale up British production “over time”, Mr Schulman said.
Changes to the retail network across the world will be made with shop staff being scheduled around “peak traffic”.
Burberry will be “realigning” shop staff, he said, “so that we can offer the best service” at the busiest times.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
There will also be a “simplification” of Burberry’s regional structure and a “rebalancing” of central and regional responsibilities to reduce duplication and “accelerate decision making” through the retail network.
But the majority of changes will be made to “office space teams” around the world, the CEO said.
Commercial and creative teams have already been consolidated, Burberry’s annual results said.
What’s gone wrong?
Aside from the global slowdown in luxury goods sales over recession fears, additional headwinds have come in the form of President Trump’s tariffs.
“Clearly, the external environment has become more challenging since mid-February”, Mr Schulman told investors.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump’s tariffs: What you need to know
Tariff risks were higher than first planned, the annual results said.
It led the US market to be described by Mr Schulman as “choppy” since February when Mr Trump began announcing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, as well as on goods such as steel and cars.
Sales also fell in the Asia Pacific region by 16%, the results showed.
Criticism was levelled at the 2021 British government decision to withdraw VAT refunds for overseas visitors, “which has made the UK the least competitive destination in Europe for tourist shopping”, the results read.
“Business in our UK home market continues to be seriously impacted” by the move.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway