London: too dirty for business?

‘London has got to clean up its act if its wants remain the top business city’. A new report(1) released today claims that it is not a lack of airport capacity which threatens London’s position as the top city in Europe to do business but its poor environment.

Too Dirty for Business? concludes that London’s excellent transport links to the rest of the world make it Europe’s premier business city. However, that position is under threat because many of its rivals score more highly on quality of life, pollution and a lack of traffic congestion, all key considerations for businesses when deciding where to locate.

The report is published on the same day as London First’s Connectivity Commission is launching its findings. It is expected to call for more airport capacity in the South East.

Too Dirty for Business? highlights the findings of the annual survey carried out by the respected global property consultants Cushman & Wakefield which found that in 2011 “London is still ranked — by some distance from its closest competitors — as the leading city in which to do business.”

Cushman & Wakefield found that London’s international transport links were much better than those of its competitors. This finding has been endorsed by WWF in its report, International Air Connectivity for Business, which said Heathrow was ‘in a class of its own’ as far as its international air links were concerned.

London performed badly in all the surveys on the quality of life it offered, scoring particularly poorly on air pollution and traffic congestion.

Report author John Stewart said, “The message is clear. London has got to clean up its act if its wants remain the top city for business. New runways and new roads will just add to the pollution, noise and traffic congestion. You can’t have more flights and a better quality of life. A clear choice has got to be made.”

Too Dirty for Business? argues that that it cannot be assumed that, if no more airport capacity is built, London will lose its top spot: “The market will determine which destinations are served. Airlines using a constrained Heathrow, for example, will concentrate their resources on their most profitable, inter-continental routes which attract a significant number of business passengers, squeezing out short-haul leisure flights which will relocate to other London airports with spare capacity.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

(1). Too Dirty for Business?

has been published by HACAN which represents residents under the Heathrow flight paths.