Heathrow fires: What caused the substation blaze which led to travel chaos
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Heathrow's £49 billion third runway battle is back on
A planning row was set to take off today as Heathrow unveiled its designs for a third runway. Britain's biggest airport believes the project, including terminals and infrastructure, can be built within a decade at a cost of around £49 billion. If passed, it will allow flights to 30 new destinations, add 0.43 per cent to the UK's GDP and carry 66 million more passengers per year, Heathrow says. But it is set to face a battle, with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (pictured), who is strongly opposed to a third runway on noise and environmental grounds, suggesting he could launch a legal challenge. The extension would involve diverting a section of the M25 through a tunnel running underneath the new runway and will mean a major redesign of the airport. The submission of the plans comes ahead of the Government formally approving proposals for a second runway at Gatwick in the next few weeks. It marks the largest expansion of Britain's airports for half a century, as Labour attempts to revive Britain's sluggish economy with infrastructure projects . But it will also reignite a major row within the party and highlight sharp divides between those who want growth and those concerned about the environment. While a majority of MPs are likely to back the project if it goes to a vote, Sir Keir Starmer and many of his Cabinet ministers have previously voted against Heathrow expansion. Earlier this year, Ed Miliband (pictured), the Secretary for Energy Security and Net Zero, had to issue a statement saying he wouldn't quit over the third runway given his previous opposition to the plans. Political rows and legal challenges over pollution have repeatedly held up plans for a Heathrow expansion, which were first raised more than two decades ago. The plans will be reviewed by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander before a consultation on the airport's national policy statement. Should permission be granted for a new runway, a full planning application can then be submitted in 2028. The new runway would mean 276,000 new flights annually and 68million more passengers. It would cost £21billion, with the rest of the planned budget paying for a redesign of the airport. The total number of flights would increase to 756,000 a year, carrying 150million passengers. Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: 'It has never been more important or urgent to expand Heathrow. We are effectively operating at capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity.' The expansion will be financed by private investment, but airlines have expressed concern that the airport will hike its passenger charges to pay for the project. Business groups welcomed the plans, saying they were 'an investment in the nation's future'. A joint statement from the Confederation of British Industry, British Chambers of Commerce, MakeUK, Federation of Small Businesses and Institute of Directors said: 'The benefits are clear: for exporters, it opens up vital access to major and emerging markets; for visitors, it enhances global and domestic connectivity; and for businesses, it unlocks billions in private investment, strengthening supply chains, creating jobs, and driving skills across the country.' But green campaigners continue to oppose the expansion, arguing that it is bad for the environment due to noise and air pollution. Dr Douglas Parr, policy director for Greenpeace UK, said: 'The Government has decided yet again to prioritise more leisure opportunities for a comparatively small group of frequent fliers, while the rest of us have to live with the consequences of their disproportionate polluting.' Richard Holden, Shadow Transport Secretary, welcomed the announcement but said it was vital it got the expansion right. 'The Government's role is now to ensure the process delivers real benefits for Britain, for passengers, protects taxpayers, and guarantees proper local consultation,' he said.
Telegraph
16 hours ago
- Telegraph
SNP approves giant wind farm despite backlash from Trump and RSPB
One of the world's largest offshore wind farms has been given the green light by the SNP only days after Donald Trump warned that 'ugly' turbines were destroying Scotland's beauty and seabirds. Scottish ministers gave consent to the Berwick Bank project, off the coast of East Lothian, where developers SSE Renewables want to construct up to 307 900ft-high turbines. On a windy day, the project aims to generate enough electricity to power every home in Scotland twice over and around 17pc of residences across the UK. Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, welcomed the decision, and the Government said enough offshore wind farms had now been approved to meet green targets. But the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said it was a 'very dark day' for seabirds in the area, over concerns tens of thousands will be killed by the turbines. It warned that the wind farm lies close to Bass Rock, the world's largest gannet colony, and to the Isle of May, a national nature reserve that is home to a large colony of puffins, plus terns, gulls and many migratory species. The charity said that the 'terrible decision' would make it easier to get planning permission for other offshore wind farms in the area and this could 'catapult' some species 'towards extinction'. The announcement came only three days after Mr Trump used a visit to Scotland to warn that wind farms were 'destroying the beauty' of the country's fields and waterways. Calling them 'ugly monsters' that produced 'the most expensive form of energy', the US president claimed he had limited the construction of 'windmills' in the US because they ' kill all your birds.' The Scottish Government's own assessment estimated that the project will kill 261 gannets, 815 kittiwakes, 2808 guillemots, 66 puffins and 154 razorbills per year throughout the 35-year lifetime of the development. SNP ministers said their decision to approve the scheme was subject to SSE Renewables producing a detailed seabird 'compensation plan' outlining how any 'adverse impacts' would be tackled. This will have to be rubber-stamped before construction of the turbines starts. But RSPB Scotland said it was unclear how the 'compensation plan' would make up for thousands of seabirds being killed by the turbines. Anne McCall, the charity's director, said: 'This is a very dark day for seabirds. It is a terrible decision on a really bad development. 'Berwick Bank would be catastrophic for Scotland's globally important seabirds which are already facing alarming declines. 'We are incredibly concerned that [the] Scottish Government have granted consent for a project which could catapult some of Scotland's most-loved seabird species towards extinction.' Diarmid Hearns, the National Trust for Scotland's interim director of conservation and policy, said the decision was 'deeply disappointing'. 'More than that, we fear it will also be the cause of significant harm to the seabird colonies of St Abb's Head national nature reserve and elsewhere on the coastline,' he added. Kate Forbes, the Deputy First Minister, said: 'The decision to grant consent to Berwick Bank is a major step in Scotland's progress towards achieving net zero and tackling the climate crisis, as well as supporting national energy security and growing our green economy.' She added: 'We will continue to work closely with the developer and key stakeholders, including those working in fishing and conservation – to minimise the impact of the development on the marine environment and other marine users – and balance the needs of people and nature.' Mr Miliband said: 'We welcome this decision, which puts us within touching distance of our offshore wind targets to deliver clean power by 2030 – boosting our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. 'We need to take back control of our energy and more offshore wind getting the green light marks a huge step forward in Britain's energy security and getting bills down for good.' Mr Miliband wants between 43GW and 50GW of offshore wind by 2030, with only 16GW operational so far. The Berwick Bank project would deliver an additional 4.1 GW. That would bring the generating capacity of consented wind farms in the planning pipeline to 28GW – enough to meet Mr Miliband's target if they are all built. SSE Renewables said the project has the potential to create 9,300 direct and indirect jobs in the UK at 'peak construction', around 4,650 of which would be in Scotland. Stephen Wheeler, the firm's managing director, said: 'Berwick Bank has the potential to rapidly scale-up Scotland's operational renewable energy capacity and can accelerate the delivery of home-grown, affordable and secure clean energy to UK consumers from Scottish offshore wind, helping meet the UK's clean power ambition by 2030.' Before his first term as president, Mr Trump lost a long-running battle at Holyrood and in the courts to prevent the construction of turbines off the coast of his golf resort in Aberdeenshire. Although energy policy is decided by the UK Government, ministers at Holyrood have control over planning, including final say over which schemes get the green light.
ITV News
20 hours ago
- ITV News
Northumberland to be linked to 'world's biggest' offshore wind farm as plans approved
A massive offshore wind farm, which will be linked to Northumberland, has been approved by the Scottish Government. Developers behind the project have called it the "world biggest" offshore wind farm. Berwick Bank will feature up to 307 turbines, and SSE Renewables say they would provide 4.1 gigawatts of capacity, enough to power up to six million homes annually. The turbines would be in Scottish waters off the coast of East Lothian, and would have two links to the grid via undersea cables - one at Blyth in Northumberland, and the other near Dunbar in East Lothian. Scotland's Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes welcomed the approval, saying the Government had given the application 'extremely careful consideration'. She said: 'The decision to grant consent to Berwick Bank is a major step in Scotland's progress towards achieving net zero and tackling the climate crisis, as well as supporting national energy security and growing our green economy.' Developers SSE Renewables will have to provide a plan to counter any impact the wind farm may have on seabirds to be approved by ministers. UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the announcement means there have been enough wind farms approved in the UK to meet the Government's ambition of delivering clean power by 2030. He said: 'We welcome this decision, which puts us within touching distance of our offshore wind targets to deliver clean power by 2030 – boosting our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.'
