Newts, let’s be having you, the Chancellor has work to do
Date published:
The Chamber’s latest column for The Journal by Rachel Anderson, assistant director of policy
Last week was not a good week for newts. You could argue that they’ve had a good run – over the last 30 years, pretty much every major development site has been brought to a shuddering halt by the presence of the supposedly rare wriggly critters.
In her recent speech, the Chancellor signalled a change to the planning laws, marking the end to their reign, adding for good measure that they can take their bat mates with them.
I don’t think Rachel Reeves has anything against newts per se, but she is keen to get growth moving and she sees projects such as a third runway at Heathrow as being key to that. It is a brave thing these days for politicians to come out in favour of controversial (and expensive) projects, especially where there is a significant environmental impact. Many politicians of all political colours have ducked the decision on a third runway for a long time, one even got elected threatening to lie down in front of bulldozers, only to have something more pressing to do when it came to a vote.
But it sort of feels like we are coming to the crunch, where a decision will have to be made and the Chancellor seems to have taken the bull, I mean, newt by the horns.
Many would shrug and say it has nothing really to do with the North East, while others might point to yet more infrastructure funding sliding south. However, a third runway at Heathrow does affect us, as we need that capacity in the North East to ensure we have rock solid linkages to the rest of the world.
Obviously, we’d like more direct routes into the region, but if capacity at Heathrow becomes too constrained, it could put regional air services under pressure or even lead to cuts, which would be economically difficult for us.
Businesses in the region also point to their ease of access to markets and proximity to Heathrow, albeit 289 miles, as a big factor in inward investment decisions.
This doesn’t let the Chancellor off the hook when it comes to funding for the North East. In her speech, she also committed (again) to reforming the way the Treasury assesses the funding for major projects.
The existing methods will always automatically assess the cost:benefit in favour of the South East due to its population and wages. Businesses are willing to support the government on Heathrow, if future investment decisions are assessed fairly.
When that happens, it might be curtains for County Durham newts too.