London businesses are to fund a major campaign for airport expansion after the Government's aviation supremo Sir Howard Davies backed new runways in the South-East.
Business group London First will put pressure on the main political parties to heed the recommendations of the Davies commission when its report is published after the 2015 election.
The “Let Britain Fly” campaign will cost £250,000 and London First is seeking £25,000 each from businesses, trade unions and London boroughs.
The cash will be used to fund academic studies and advertising. The lobby group insists it will not campaign in favour of one particular airport.
It believes extra flights can be put on at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick in the next five years regardless of the outcome of a decision on runways.
London First’s Rob McIvor said: “We are bringing together various businesses and other organisations that want politicians to commit to being guided by the Airports Commission’s recommendations and acting swiftly once they have been made. We cannot afford to see this kicked into the long grass yet again.”
He said that, in the short term, the group would be calling for more flights at the major London airports, improved transport links and the lifting of price caps.
He added: “Long term, we believe we will need to build new runways in the South-East but we are open minded about where they will be. The important thing is for all the main parties to commit to tackling the capacity crunch after the 2015 election.”
The City of London Corporation is set to contribute to the campaign, with Canary Wharf Group, Sir Robert McAlpine, the Berkeley Group, John Lewis and Segro also committed.
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Earlier this week, airports chief Sir Howard ruled there was no alternative to building extra runways in the South -East to cope with rising passenger demand.
In December, he will announce a shortlist of potential runway sites from 58 submissions.
His commission will then whittle this down to make a recommendation in 2015, which could involve new runways at more than one airport.
