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Old 17th Jun 2015, 21:48
  #220 (permalink)  
AndyH52
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
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I take my hat off to you that you have the time on your hand to go back and review the multitude of posts on this thread. Your're quite right, no one has explicitly said this is about using capacity in the regions instead of Heathrow, but I'm sorry that is how it comes across to me (here and the debate on the Manchester thread that preceded creation of this one). Call it the elephant in the room.

The assertion that your objection to Heathrow expansion is purely down to cost just seems a bit hollow. One minute it's the cost. The next it's the potential need for public subsidy. Then there is apparently "zero desire" for northern passengers to route via Heathrow anyway. Have you canvassed them all? Please don't deign to speak on my behalf, as a passenger from the north who is quite prepared to travel via Heathrow to get to my final destination and who would be delighted to have the opportunity to start that journey from my local airport.

Then in various posts you seem quite in favour of public subsidy for infrastructure projects provided it's in the north (well Manchester, anyway). IF the expansion of Heathrow costs the estimated £16.9 billion, and IF it requires £2.9 billion of public investment, that equates to around £5.80 of private investment for every £1 of public. Compare that to Manchester's much awaited £1 billion expansion which is being underpinned by £0.5 billion of publicly funded roadworks (the A556 and A6 improvement schemes), £160m or so towards the Metrolink extension, new rolling stock for the train services to MAN and who knows how much a HS2 station might cost. That's getting on for £1 billion which equates to £1 for £1 leverage. Not exactly earth shattering stuff, although any investment in our infrastructure is much needed and much welcomed.

i think part of the challenge in this debate is understanding just how much complex infrastructure projects cost these days. I was reading a report in work this last week that put the benchmark cost of constructing 1 (one) kilometre of single bore tunnel for HS2 at £31,000,000. Whilst not on the scale of an HS2 tunnel you can't overlook the fact that the Heathrow proposals involve miles of tunnelling to link the new terminal and satellites into the central area. And on top of that you have TFL levying £35 a square metre Community Infrastructure Levy charge. The costs soon add up.
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