UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has finally given the go-ahead for a controversial third runway at London’s Heathrow airport.
“I can confirm today that this government supports a third runway at Heathrow and is inviting proposals to be brought forward by the summer,” Reeves said as part of a speech outlining her plans to boost economic growth in the UK.
The £19bn project has been embroiled in turmoil ever since the Department for Transport first proposed the expansion under the previous Labour administration in 2006. Those fledgling plans were later cancelled by the coalition government soon after coming into office in May 2010.
The project was then finally given the go-ahead in 2018 under Prime Minister Theresa May after years of legal wrangling. But again, it faced further delays from legal challenges brought over its environmental impact as well as the downturn in the commercial aviation sector as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Reeves has now confirmed she will push the project through...