Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the requirements for surface access improvements to meet the demands of the third runway at Heathrow; what is their estimate of the cost of those improvements; and what is their policy on who will pay for them.

The Government is currently consulting on a draft Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) which will set the framework for any planning process, should the NPS be designated. The draft NPS proposes targets to increase the number of airport users accessing the airport by public transport.

As part of any planning application the promoter would need to set out in detail how it would achieve these targets as part of its plans for mitigating the impact of expansion.

The Government expects, as set out in the Aviation Policy Framework 2013, the cost of any surface access works required solely to enable airport expansion to be met by the promoter.

In the case of Heathrow expansion, this would mean that Heathrow Airport Limited, will meet the cost of the surface access improvements necessary to allow expansion of the airport, including re-alignment of the M25, the A4 and A3044, as well as airport and terminal access roads.

Where proposed projects have wider beneficiaries, such as Western Rail Access and Southern Rail Access, the Government will expect Heathrow to fund an appropriate proportion of the costs based on the direct benefits for the airport.