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    1. In 2006 the Department of Transport proposed a new third runway at heathrow in what was the worlds most busiest airport for most of its life and even still in the top 3 by then.

      There was a great deal of resistance from all the usual nimbys citing noise and air pollution issues – most of who moved there long after the airport was even built – because the first thing you do when you choose to move next to an airport is to complain about the noise and air pollution.

      In the mean time China has gone from having 90 airports at the time – not only massively expanding the vast majority of them but also building 169 entirely new aiports since then.

      While the UK continues to self flagellate and hold itself back, the rest of the world is getting on with what they need to do to keep their country and people prosperous.

    2. heroin__preston on

      Maybe this time, just stop oil could throw themselves into a jet engine for maximum exposure (literally).

    3. Could we try and actually pore some concrete somewhere for some infrastructure project anywhere please i don’t care where, just do something

    4. HoodedArcher64 on

      Surely geographically speaking, Heathrow is one of the worst to expand as it can only expand in one direction (away from the suburbs and into a reservoir). Gatwick for example already has a second runway which only has to be slightly moved a few metres to bring it into full time use. This would be far cheaper than building a third runway at Heathrow, and Gatwick is just as well connected to central London as Heathrow is (almost identical journey time from Farringdon iirc). Gatwick is also allowed to land more planes at night than Heathrow due to Heathrow’s immediate proximity to the suburbs, which is a huge advantage for Gatwick.

      It would also be easier to expand Luton or Stansted than Heathrow, but these aren’t as well connected as Gatwick.

    5. Do we get to spend years re-hashing all the arguments for and against the expansion as if this idea wasn’t first proposed 50 years ago?

      Just build the damn thing.

    6. Regardless if this is good or bad, the UK really should have simply decided this a decade ago.

    7. GuyLookingForPorn on

      If private companies want to pay for our expensive infrastructure, I say fucking let them.

    8. SpottedDicknCustard on

      Get ahead of the curve now: Manchester, Brum, Gatwick at minimum should be given green lights for an additional runway.

      If you want business investing in this country we need infrastructure that supports it and policy that doesn’t hold back infrastructure building.

    9. GuyLookingForPorn on

      Not just Heathrow, but Gatwick and Luton to

      >Keir Starmer’s government is preparing to approve controversial expansions to three London airports as part of a push to spur growth that’s become more urgent this month after international markets cast doubt on the credibility of the UK’s economic plans.
      >
      >Ministers are set to publicly signal support for a long-sought third runway at Heathrow, sign off on plans to bring the second strip at Gatwick into full-time use, and allow an increase in the capacity at Luton Airport, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked for anonymity discussing plans that haven’t been finalized.
      >
      >”We are determined to get our economy moving and secure the long-term future of the UK’s aviation sector,” the government said in a statement.

    10. Grime_Fandango_ on

      I’m in my 30s. I was an actual little child when this started as a story. This country has been broken a long old time to be fair. Imagine how people in China look at the way we build infrastructure. They must actually fall over laughing at our incompetence.

    11. Underclasscoder on

      I predict a project which runs wildly over budget with a few private equity firms becoming very wealthy..

    12. How about some infrastructure investment anywhere that isn’t London? Or at least with a decent railway link? Birmingham and Manchester airports are both much better placed for most of the country.

    13. Fucking hell this has been going on for decades. It’s embarrassing how little progress we are making as a country, we should want to grow and prosper and we are making decision after decision which hinders all ways of moving forward.

    14. It will never happen. Infrastructure either doesn’t get built in this country or it takes ridiculously long and is horrendously over budget.

    15. If the Government go ahead with this they are essentially signalling that they aren;t committed to the UKs climate goals. It is all but impossible to build another runway at Heathrow and meet them. [https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/letter-department-for-transports-assessment-of-the-case-for-a-third-runway-at-heathrow/](https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/letter-department-for-transports-assessment-of-the-case-for-a-third-runway-at-heathrow/)

      We should be building HS2 in full and getting rid of the hundreds of short haul domestic flights that are taking up landing slots at Heathrow. That would provide more international growth without the need for billions in construction and political capital.

    16. Heathrow should be shut down and the investment all moved the the North. Time to equalise investment through the country.