Lawmakers approve Heathrow expansion

Authorities hope to begin construction by 2021, although project will likely face legal challenges

British MPs overwhelmingly approved on Monday long-awaited plans to build a third runway at London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, after decades of acrimonious debate over its potential impact.

Lawmakers, by a wide margin of 296 votes, backed expansion proposals agreed earlier this month by Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, overcoming vehement opposition from MPs with constituencies nearby where residents fear increased pollution and noise.

Among them is Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who once pledged to lie in front of bulldozers to stop construction, but missed the key vote due to a last-minute trip to Afghanistan.

‘Thousands of jobs’

The government argue that the £14 billion (Dh68 billion or $18.5 billion) plan will provide a major boost to Britain’s post-Brexit economy and could create up to 114,000 local jobs by 2030.

“This is a momentous vote that has been 50 years in the making and represents the biggest transport decision in a generation,” said Transport Secretary Chris Grayling ahead of securing approval for the plan. “At stake are thousands of new jobs and the country’s ability to compete on an international stage and win new global trade.”

Heathrow hopes to begin construction by 2021 although it must still obtain formal planning permission and will likely face legal challenges.

Grayling insisted the plan could be delivered without breaking Britain’s commitments on climate change, and has sought to reassure locals with a continued ban on night flights.

But immediately following the vote, environmental campaign group Greenpeace UK said it was ready to challenge the runway in court with a cross-party group of London councils and the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan.

“If ministers don’t want to uphold the laws protecting us from toxic fumes and climate change, we’re going to ask a court to do that,” said its executive director John Sauven.

Anti-expansion activists staged a “lie-in” over the plans in parliament’s central lobby earlier Monday evening, just metres away from MPs debating the issue.

Police locked down the area after the 12 protesters sprawled themselves across the floor chanting in protest.

Grayling said the project would be funded by the private sector.