What happens next as Reeves says Heathrow expansion can be done by 2035

The chancellor has she wants to see “spades in the ground" by 2029, but it was up to Heathrow to come forward with plans by the summer.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11:  A passenger plane comes into land over a field containing horses at Heathrow Airport on August 11, 2014 in London, England. Heathrow is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest in the world. The airport's operator BAA wants to build a third runway to cope with increased demand.  (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
Despite fresh government backing for a third runway at Heathrow, debate over the project is set to continue. (Getty Images)

The new runway at Heathrow Airport can be completed by 2035, according to Rachel Reeves.

The chancellor announced the confirmation of the project, along with several other major infrastructure proposals, on Wednesday and has insisted they can be completed in a timely manner.

Asked when Heathrow's new runway would be in use, Reeves told the BBC: “I think we can get that done in a decade.”

Pressed whether this meant planes would be using it by 2035, Reeves responded: “That is what we want to achieve and that is what Heathrow wants to achieve.”

Rachel Reeves defended her proposals while visiting the manufacturing facilities at Premier Modular in Driffield, Humberside. (PA)
Rachel Reeves defended her proposals while visiting the manufacturing facilities at Premier Modular in Driffield, Humberside. (PA)

She said the government was “inviting” Heathrow to bring forward proposals for a third runway “by the summer” and hopes to have "spades in the ground" before the next election.

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The chancellor also said the government was looking at plans to expand Gatwick and Luton, as well as efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Other projects announced on Wednesday include a major investment to turn Oxford and Cambridge into a European Silicon Valley, which would see numerous new reservoirs being built and an expansion in the East-West railway.

Although many of the plans were welcomed, Heathrow's expansion was hit with fierce backlash, including from Labour MPs.

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves dfelivers a speech on the country economic growth during a visit at Siemens Healthineers, in Eynsham, near Oxford, January 29, 2025. (Photo by Peter Cziborra / POOL / AFP) (Photo by PETER CZIBORRA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Rachel Reeves has confirmed the government will back plans for a third runway at Heathrow. (AFP via Getty Images)

Heathrow's existing runways run east-west on either side of the main airport site. It is one of the world’s busiest two-runway airports, with planes taking off or landing up to every 45 seconds.

The current plans would see a third runway built parallel to these but to the northeast of the north runway – which would would also take the runway across the M25, one of the UK’s busiest motorways.

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To deal with this, proposals have also been put forward for a new tunnel which would allow traffic to continue flowing underneath.

Current plans for a third runway would see it built over parts of the Harmondsworth, Sipson and Harlington communities.

Heathrow said in 2018 that it could complete the project for £14bn, but according to the Times, the airport has informally told airlines the figure now sits between £42bn and £63bn.

Proposals for a third runway at Heathrow would mean cutting through several villages. (PA
Proposals for a third runway at Heathrow would mean cutting through several villages. (PA)

A major review of Heathrow's proposal would need to be carried out to ensure it complies with legal and environmental requirements.

The government has said it wants to simplify regulations to avoid the scheme facing excessive delays in the courts. Regulation of the airport’s finances could also be overhauled to ensure the investment needed to build a new runway is recouped in the long term.

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Once political and legal barriers have been overcome, the next stage would be the submission of a development consent order (DCO), involving a public consultation, before being sent to the government for final approval.

British Airways Boeing 777 GSTBH Taking off from LHR International Airport in bad weather
Ministers have been 'seriously considering' plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport since a least 2001. (Getty)

Reeves claimed that an expanded Heathrow would be vital in connecting the UK to emerging markets.

Pointing to figures showing that 60% of air freight entered Britain via Heathrow and an estimated 15 million business passengers transiting through it every year, Reeves said the government could not "duck the decision any longer".

"But for decades its [Heathrow's] growth has been constrained," she said. "Studies have shown this really matters for our economy and a third runway could increase potential GDP by 0.4% by 2050.

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"Over half – 60% – of that boost would go to areas outside London and the South East, increasing trade opportunities for Scotch whisky and Scottish salmon, already two of the biggest British exports."

Government estimates have suggested 100,000 jobs could be created by a new runway while pressing ahead could also dispel "doubts about our seriousness towards improving our economic prospects" among international investors, the chancellor claimed.

She added: "I have always been clear that a third runway at Heathrow would unlock growth, boost investment, increase exports and make the UK more open and more connected.”

Windsor, England - 9 April 2017 - British Airways commercial aircraft flies above Windsor Castle on a clear blue sky day at Windsor, England on April 9, 2017
Windsor Castle is just one of the family homes which could have to deal with the noise from increased air traffic if the third runway is built. (Getty)

Environmental concerns have been at the heart of opposition to the Heathrow expansion plans.

Energy boss, Labour donor and environmental campaigner Dale Vince has argued an expanded Heathrow would simply create an "illusion of growth", whilst also harming carbon-cutting plans.

Projections of the expected carbon cost of a third runway have suggested a forest twice the size of London would need to be planted in the UK to cancel out the extra CO2 emissions from the expansions of Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton.

The London Assembly has also claimed that increased air traffic could "exacerbate air quality problems in the area", potentially paving the way for "increased respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions".

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Families living close to Heathrow Airport face losing their homes if the plans are finally cleared for takeoff.

Villages in the way of and around the proposed site of the third runway face being forced to sell their homes to make way for the project.

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A "Stop Heathrow Expansion" sign is seen on a lamppost on road into Harmondsworth, west London, one of the villages which would be affected by the expansion of the airport. (PA)

As well as displacing families, hundreds of years of history could also be erased, such as Harmondsworth village’s Great Barn, built in 1426, celebrated as “the Cathedral of Middlesex” by poet laureate Sir John Betjeman.

Even those not directly impacted by the expansion plans have reasons to oppose the scheme due to the likely increase in noise from air traffic.

Starmer and Reeves also risk a collision with an old foe over the issue – former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, whose Hayes and Harlington constituency includes Heathrow Airport.

On Tuesday, McDonnell demanded answers on what will happen to families forced to move for the runway, as well as the impact on households living under expanded flight paths.

London mayor Sadiq Khan is one of the most high-profile Labour figures against the plans.

Speaking to BBC Radio London, Khan pointed to issues with noise, air pollution and climate change targets.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan speaks to media in London, Britain, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
London mayor Sadiq Khan is one of the main Labour opponents to the Heathrow expansion plans. (Reuters)

“Although I support, of course, many of the policies of the government, I don’t support a policy of them supporting a new runway at Heathrow and I think that’s perfectly normal in a pluralist society,” he said.

And even those apparently supporting the scheme have been quick to sound notes of caution.

While Perry Phillips, a regional organiser with the GMB union was quick to praise the plans, Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite trade union, warned a “dash for growth” would be doomed to fail without a “coherent industrial strategy” backing it up.

The government’s Heathrow plans have not been met with the universal positivity from business some might have expected.

Reacting in the aftermath of the chancellor’s speech, airline Virgin Atlantic said more wide-reaching reforms would be needed before aircraft could take off from a completed third runway.

A spokesperson for the firm said: “We are supportive of growth and expansion at Heathrow, if, and only if, there is fundamental reform to the flawed regulatory model to ensure value for money for consumers, affordability for UK plc and support for a competitive UK aviation industry.”

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary went a step further however, branding the Heathrow plans a "dead cat" which will not deliver the economic growth the chancellor claims it will and calling on her to cut or scrap air passenger duty instead.