Wednesday 1 March 2017

London needs immediate infrastructure investment to compete - Chancellor is warned

With just a week to go until the budget, London's leading business organisation has said that Philip Hammond needs to give London the infrastructure to compete post Brexit.

London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said it is essential that the capital can continue to grow with the approach of Brexit and beyond - and one of the biggest challenges is securing the right level of infrastructure support.

With a third runway at Heathrow still at least ten years away, London must make best use of the existing airports by strengthening surface links to ensure the capital still remains globally competitive.

As well as airport infrastructure improvements, LCCI would like to see a firm commitment for Crossrail 2 which is vital for London, with its potential to secure 200,000 London based jobs, over 60,000 supply chain jobs across the UK, and tens of thousands of new homes.

Chief Executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Colin Stanbridge said: "It is more important now than ever that not only does London continue to grow as global city, but that it is seen to do so.

"That means looking the future, not waiting to see what happens next and investing in our infrastructure.

"This is a profoundly important budget. Philip Hammond has said he is wants to help UK businesses compete.

"That sounds great but it is vital that we see words translated into action."

ENDS

Media contact
Katharine McGee
T: +44 (0)20 7203 1897
M: +44 (0)7827 241528
E: kmcgee@londonchamber.co.uk