Rachel Reeves has delivered a wide-ranging speech detailing Labour’s plans to promote new developments across the UK. Pledging projects which aim regenerate areas from north to south, the chancellor aimed to promote a central message of economic growth.
Much of her speech focused on plans to invest in new infrastructure projects, which range from airport expansion, to train lines, and a football stadium. Central to the government’s plans are new developments in the area between Oxford and Cambridge, aiming to boost business investment in the area.
As expected, the chancellor also took aim at regulation, which she says holds back business investment in the UK. She added that more details on plans to tackle this will come in March.
Speaking in Oxfordshire, the chancellor said: “Low growth is not our destiny, but that economic growth will not come without a fight, without a government that is on the side of working people – willing to take the right decisions now to change our country’s course for the better.”
Here’s what the plans could mean for you:
Heathrow third runway
Heathrow airport in west London wants to build a third runway to raise capacity and boost resilience.
“I can confirm today that this government supports a third runway at Heathrow and is inviting proposals to be be brought forward by the summer,” Reeves said.
The plans received parliamentary approval in June 2018, but the airport would need to apply for a Development Consent Order to go ahead with the project.
There is no timeline for when a third runway could open, but it is likely to be well into the 2030s.
The scheme would have a major impact on the local area, with hundreds of homes demolished and villages such as Harmondsworth and Longford likely to be partly or wholly demolished. There are also questions about how the project would impact the government’s green agenda.
But flights from the airport are currently capped at 480,000 per year, with that limit being reached. A third runway would theoretically increase this to 720,000 flights. The airport currently handles £200 billion worth of trade a year – and could likely deliver more after an expansion.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander will also soon decide on requests for expansion projects at Gatwick and Luton airports.
Cambridge-Oxford ‘corridor’
Ms Reeves said she will deliver on long-delayed plans to create an ‘arc’ between Cambridge and Oxford, homes to the UK’s two historical and leading universities.
The arc would see the two-hour plus journey between the two cities cut down, creating a region that will become “Europe’s silicon valley”.
This also includes the development of ‘East West Rail’, which involves boosting railway links between the two cities with new and upgraded lines.
A new railway station at Tempsford, Bedfordshire, would provide connections between the East Coast Main Line and East West Rail.
Lower Thames Crossing
This is a new £9 billion road crossing between Kent and Essex.
It would connect the A2 and M2 in Kent to the A13 and M25 in Essex via a 2.6-mile long tunnel under the Thames, which would be the UK’s longest road tunnel.
This is aimed at reducing congestion on the Dartford Crossing. National Highways says the development would tackle congestion by taking over 13 million vehicles away from Dartford, almost double road capacity across the Thames east of London, and shorten journey times significantly.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to make a final decision on whether to approve the scheme by May 23.
New Old Trafford confirmed
Manchester United is eager to create a new venue by either redeveloping its current stadium to increase capacity to 87,000, or build a new ground which could hold 100,000 fans.
The club has said it will decide on its preferred option “ahead of the summer”. A survey released in November found a majority of United fans favour a new stadium rather than the redevelopment of Old Trafford.
The project would also involve a major regeneration of the area around Old Trafford, with residential, transport and entertainment developments.
Promises for the North
Appears to pre-empt criticism that new growth projects are too focused on the South of England, Ms Reeves also promised a slate of developments for more northern regions.
The chancellor promised that Labour would deliver railway schemes for people across the North, including upgrades at Bradford Forster Square and electrifying the Wigan to Bolton line. This will comes alongside plans to upgrade the TransPennine route, which will connect Manchester to York via Stalybridge, Leeds and Huddersfield.
In October, The Independent revealed that 36 rail projects promised under the Conservatives were at risk following Labour’s election victory – most in the North. With more details set to come following Labour’s Spending Review in March, many of these may be revisited in some form.