Heathrow’s planned expansion would bring up to £12 billion in economic benefits to Yorkshire. That was the message at a briefing today in Parliament which I hosted on behalf of Heathrow representatives. They also told us that 60 per cent of the supply chain will be outside of London and the South East, which is good news for business of all sizes and could create over 11,000 jobs for the Yorkshire region.
We were also told that Severfield in Dalton near Thirsk has been shortlisted as a possible logistics hub where component parts would be assembled for transport to Heathrow to ensure that communities outside of London benefit from the expansion. It would be fantastic if they are successful as this would mean more jobs directly in the Thirsk area.
Heathrow is Europe's busiest airport and one of the world's top international aviation hubs. It currently welcomes 78 million passengers each year and it is Britain's largest cargo port by values so it’s expansion will have other knock on benefits for Yorkshire. The new runway also has the potential to serve the region by connecting flights from Leeds-Bradford airport, which is good for exporters and for transatlantic travellers.
This is all welcome news and I support anything that will boost our local economy, create jobs and improve transport links to the North to connect with faster and more frequent services across northern cities which I have long been campaigning for. I encourage local businesses to meet with Heathrow at one of their upcoming business summits. The next North East summit is on 10th May at Jurys Inn, Middlesbrough.