Rapid Responses
No to Boris Island
[Re: Which is the best option for expanding airport capacity?, yesterday]
Boris Johnson calls a third runway at Heathrow “simply mad”, but the phrase more obviously describes his own proposals for a Thames Estuary airport. Adding a third runway to an airport such as Heathrow, with its existing infrastructure, is incomparably easier, faster and cheaper than building a new airport. It’s absurd for Boris to suggest otherwise. If Boris is serious about stopping Heathrow expansion, he needs to get back in the debate, drop his Estuary proposal, secure a Crossrail spur to Stansted, and get Gatwick a second runway so it can compete freely with Heathrow.
Mark Reckless, Conservative MP for Rochester and Stroud
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Freedom to build
[Re: At last, a genuine supply-side reform from David Cameron, yesterday]
Yes, relaxation of planning laws is good news. But does this really go far enough? One big issue that many new businesses have is getting access to sufficient premises when they are busy growing. This little tweak will allow existing buildings to be expanded, but brand new developments will still get bogged down in a morass of regulations and petty local restrictions.
Kieran Lewis
The construction sector contributed disproportionately to last quarter’s miserable GDP figures. It needs all the help it can get.
Richard Morgan
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TOP TWEETS
Thank goodness we’re reducing planning rules on small-scale changes to domestic homes. It’s massively overdue.
@MrGeorgeClarke
Planning reform is a much-needed structural change, and part of a package to make our economy more liberal.
@RyanCPS
Is Mario Draghi saving countries, or keeping the global gambling casino open? The spin is the former, but don’t forget the latter.
@davidmcw
I’m not particularly bothered if we have a third runway at Heathrow, Boris Island, or something else. But we need more capacity.
@danbrusca