200,000 Thames Valley Jobs Lost if Heathrow Closed

26 September 2013, 05:00

A new study has looked into the impact of the closure of the hub airport.

Five organisations across the Thames Valley, or in this case the 'Western Wedge' have been looking at the three options being faced by Heathrow; do nothing, expand, close and move to the Thames Estuary.

The report shows that if London followed the Mayor Boris Johnson's plan of moving to the east, up to 200,000 jobs would be affected.

Richard Tindle from the Thames Valley Berkshire Enterprise Partnership has been telling Heart why: 1 job in every 20 is absolutely dependant on the airport, and as many as another one and a half to two jobs would also be affected because their indirectly linked to the airport."

The study has been handed to the Davies Commission into the future of the UK's airport infrastructure.

Talking the Heart Richard continues: "The businesses that choose to located in the Thames Valley absolutely love the access to a world class airport, and Heathrow is a world class airport.

"I know sometimes it has a reputation for congestion delays, but that is a symptom of it's success."

The report also estimates that 40,000 jobs would be created across West London, Thames Valley, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, if Heathrow was to expand.