Heathrow transport budget error is “cataclysmic miscalculation” says Sian Berry
Green mayoral candidate Sian Berry has made the following comment on today’s news reports that Heathrow Airport would face a black hole in excess of £16 billion to pay for enhancements to road and rail links to the airport should the third runway be given the green light.
“Just as the business case for a third runway at Heathrow has been vastly exaggerated, it now turns out the cost to the public purse has been massively underestimated. Saying something will cost £2 billion when it will actually cost £18 billion isn’t a minor error – it’s a cataclysmic miscalculation, the size of the entire budget for Crossrail.
“If London had that kind of money to spend on new transport systems, there are a thousand and one more deserving uses for it than building more roads to a runway we don’t need or want at Heathrow. If we used even half of it for new investments in public transport and improvements in walking and cycling infrastructure, Londoners would be incomparably better off.”