Tories urge BAA to abandon project for £160m second Stansted runway

The Conservative party has urged BAA to abandon a £160m planning application for a second runway at Stansted Airport after warning that the project would be scrapped by a Tory government.

Theresa Villiers, the shadow transport secretary, also warned any company considering working on the proposed third runway at Heathrow to think "very, very carefully" before signing contracts related to the scheme. The Tories have pledged to replace a new runway at Britain's largest airport with a high-speed rail network.

BAA's planning application for a new runway at Stansted will be heard at a public inquiry early next year and the final verdict on the project is expected in 2010 - around the time of a general election that the Conservatives remain favourites to win. Asked today what advice she had for BAA on its Stansted application, Villiers said: "I would advise them to drop it." She added: "We do not want a second runway at Stansted."

BAA has invested £160m in plans for a second runway at Stansted, comprised of the £80m acquisition of 73 homes due to be demolished if the runway goes ahead and a further £80m on drawing up the application - which is contained in 50 folders at BAA Stansted HQ. BAA declined to comment, but it is understood that the airport group is determined to press on with the application and is still planning to open a second runway in 2015. Transport secretary Geoff Hoon, in his first major decision since replacing Ruth Kelly this month, has approved lifting the passenger limit on Stansted's only runway from 25 million per year to 35 million. He also backed a third runway at Heathrow in an interview last week.

Villiers reiterated opposition to a proposed third runway at Heathrow, saying that Tories were "absolutely determined" to stop the project going ahead. She added that companies contracted to work on the project were in danger of losing their work. "We will not consider ourselves bound by any decision taken by this government (on Heathrow). People involved with contracts should be warned - we will stop a third runway going ahead. Anyone getting involved in any contract for a third runway should be very, very careful," she said.

The shadow transport secretary added that the proposed £15.7bn high-speed rail link was affordable and would make Heathrow "much better" by reducing demand for domestic flights. The Tories are also considering imposing a high-speed rail levy on Heathrow passengers to pay for a spur line to the airport. "By freeing up slots we will make Heathrow less overcrowded. We will make Heathrow much, much better."

The government is sifting through thousands of responses to a public consultation on the third runway and is expected to deliver its verdict before Christmas. BAA will then submit a planning application for the £8bn runway, which it hopes to open by 2020. Julian Brazier, the shadow transport minister, said an incoming government was "legally entitled" to scrap infrastructure projects if they are against its policies. "There are legal precedents," he said.

A second runway at Stansted would take the Essex airport from 22 million passengers per year to 68 million - the annual total handled by Heathrow currently. A third runway at Heathrow would increase the number of flights from 480,000 per year to more than 700,000.