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Ministers throw weight behind Heathrow third runway
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick avoids opposing plans by London mayor Sadiq Khan, who does not want the airport to be expanded
11 February 2021 • 5:49pm
Ministers have insisted the Government continues to support a third runway at Heathrow despite apparent claims to the contrary by Robert Jenrick.
The Housing Secretary s decision to back Sadiq Khan s building plan for greater London - in which he blocks the controversial airport expansion and overrules recommendations from his own Planning Inspectorate - does not alter the Government s backing for the project, officials said.
Theresa May’s administration formally gave Heathrow’s third runway the green light in June 2018 after decades of political wrangling.
News diary 8-14 February: Donald Trump s second impeachment trial begins
Monday
European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič is due in London this week for talks with Michael Gove on the Northern Ireland protocol. The in-person meeting follows virtual discussions last week over the events which led to the Commission triggering Article 16 of the protocol, a move which united Westminster, Stormont and Dublin in condemnation. Gove told the Commons last week that there were serious problems with the protocol and called for the extension of customs grace periods; the Cabinet Office minister can elaborate on his comments and wider UK-EU relations in an appearance before the European Scrutiny Committee on Monday.
Construction emissions ‘a national scandal’, says ACAN
The carbon footprint of the UK construction industry is ‘a national scandal’, a new campaign from the Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) argues
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In the face of a climate emergency, ACAN warns that the industry’s carbon footprint is larger than the entire national carbon footprints of 149 countries around the world, coming in at just under 50MtCO2e (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) – around 10 per cent of total UK emissions.
In proposing a shift towards re-use of existing buildings, the AJ’s own RetroFirst campaign has also been highlighting this category of emissions, which has been largely overlooked by national government until now but is included in the new London Plan’s regulations.
The plan also includes updated space and quality standards for new build homes.
The formal adoption of the plan follows more than a year of delays after inspectors forced Khan to reduce the housing numbers contained in the document after declaring them undeliverable, and then housing secretary Robert Jenrick forced a raft of further changes.
Khan has managed to dodge calls by planning inspectors for a review of London’s green belt, viewed by many in the development industry as essential, to deliver the homes needed.
Khan, said
: “The completely unnecessary delay in signing off my plan – which I sent to the secretary of state more than a year ago – has done real harm to confidence in key industries and among Londoners right across the capital, including the work to build more homes.”