UK airport just 30 miles from London set for game-changing £1.1bn expansion

The government has confirmed a five-year £1.1bn investment in a key airport 30 miles from London, including a major extention of its terminal.

Plans were unveiled at ministers’ flagship International Investment Summit on Monday to expand and improve Stansted Airport, in Essex, following record-breaking passenger numbers.

The focus will be on a £600 million extension of the terminal, increasing its size by a third and securing new air routes.

More seating areas, new shops, bars and restaurants will also be installed. Meanwhile, £500m will be spent on improving the existing terminal and the wider airport estate, Essex Live reports.

Also included in the investment programme is Stansted’s 14.3MW on-site solar farm to support the site’s current and future electricty needs.

Among other work funded by the investment package is an expanded security hall, as well as additional check-in desks and a new baggage claim carousel.

Work on the project, for which planning permission was obtained last October, is expected to take between two and three years with contruction to commence in 2025.

Stansted Airport owners Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which is in the final stages of procurement, said as many as 5,000 new on-site jobs will be created. MAG also owns Manchester and East Midlands Airports.

In the year to September, Stansted saw 29.3 million passengers taking flight, and the airport expects to see some 43 million annually when the project is concluded.

If that proves accurate, Stansted will serve two million more passengers than London Gatwick Airport currently does on a yearly basis, becoming the nation’s second busiest airport behind Heathrow.

Sevices from Stansted fly to 200 destinations across 40 countries after British Airways resumed flights from the airport in March, BBC News reports.

But Brian Ross, the chairman of the campaign group Stansted Airport Watch, told the BBC he is worried about what the project could do to the surrounding area.

“Stansted is supposed to be an airport in the countryside and we’re just concerned it might outgrow the local environment,” he says.

“We don’t want to end up with an environment similar to what is around Heathrow and Gatwick. But that’s what airports do, they seem to be a magnet for development – hotels, car parks, housing etcetera,” he added.

But Gareth Powell, the airport’s managing director, insists the site will be an “exciting new chapter”, and that potential impacts had been “carefully considered” by planners.

“We are unique among major airports in operating a single terminal, which means we can give people a simple, efficient and seamless experience,” he told the outlet.

“I believe we have successfully achieved this while maintaining the ease, simplicity and original design concept of our fantastic terminal building,” he added.

MAG CEO Ken O’Toole said: “By investing more than £1 billion in Stansted over the next five years, we will be able to connect people and businesses in London and the east of England to even more global destinations, while welcoming millions more visitors to the UK.

“We are proud to be investing in our infrastructure in a way that will create jobs and stimulate trade, investment and tourism.

“Aviation is an essential enabler of the success of the UK’s key high-value industries, and we look forward to helping the Government achieve the highest sustained growth in the G7 through the sustainable growth of our airports.”

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “We have been steadfast in our commitment to help British businesses grow and in turn boost the UK’s economy.

“This announcement is a clear signal that Britain is open for business. Transport is central to this Government’s core mission of growing the economy.

“This is about giving companies like Manchester Airports Group the confidence to invest, boosting regional and national economic growth, and supporting the aviation sector while also meeting our existing environmental obligations.”