'Fix capacity before Heathrow expansion' - council

Any move to expand Heathrow must first solve travel capacity issues which will only intensify with millions of new passengers and staff travelling to the airport, a Surrey council has said.

Earlier this week Chancellor Rachel backed a third runway at Heathrow as part of a fresh plan to get the UK economy growing.

Surrey County Council said it understands how the airport continues to benefit the county but the M25, M4 and rail network already face capacity issues.

Matt Furniss, lead member for transport and economic growth, said that any "expansion requires the environmental and surface access issues involved to be satisfactorily addressed".

Mr Furniss called on the government to take the lead in creating a "clear and agreed framework for the necessary infrastructure", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Increasing the airport's size would put pressure on the road network around Heathrow.

According to National Highways, the busiest section of the M25 is junction 10 to the south of the airport.

The most recent iteration of the expansion plans has a third runway located to the northwest of the existing two, with the M25 being rerouted underneath.

Previous attempts to improve the rail network have included building a new line across Staines Moor to link into the existing network running into London Waterloo.

Efforts to build this hit a stumbling block when it emerged that the project would cost about £700m.

Mr Furniss added: "Our goal is to work constructively with the government, the airport, relevant national agencies and other local authorities on the proposals for a third runway in order to protect and promote the interests of Surrey residents and businesses."

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