Groups unite to fight Heathrow expansion plan
A GROUP of councils, the Mayor of London and Greenpeace have formally notified the government of their plans to challenge Heathrow expansion in the courts.
The Airports National Policy Statement, which includes the approval of the plan to build a third north-west runway at Heathrow Airport, was voted on by MPs on June 25.
However, several local groups and environmental charities were opposed to the scheme, including Hillingdon Council and Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
A coalition of the councils, environmental pressure group Greenpeace and Sadiq Khan are now going to seek a judicial review of the government’s decision to back Heathrow as the site for airport expansion in the south-east.
Heathrow had been selected by the government as its preferred choice for expansion in October 2016, ahead of rival bids from other airports including Gatwick.
The coalition is proposing its challenge on the grounds of air quality, climate change and strategic environmental assessment, including failing properly to deal with the noise consequences and surface access impacts.
They also allege that the government misunderstood and misapplied the law when it comes to air quality. On surface access, they argue that it is impossible to accommodate additional traffic movements “without unacceptable effects on the transport network and unacceptable effects from traffic pollution”.
Councillor Ray Puddifoot, Leader of Hillingdon Council, said: “We have given the government numerous opportunities to address our concerns and answer our questions and they have demonstrably failed to do so. The government has misunderstood and misapplied the law on air quality, despite having already lost recent legal challenges on this issue. The evidence of unacceptable damage to the environment and the health and wellbeing of many thousands of people is untenable in both law and common sense.”
The only way for the government to avoid legal action on its NPS statement is to quash its policy, the coalition warned.
Other members of the group include Wandsworth and Richmond councils.
Paul McGuinness, chairman of the No 3rd Runway Coalition, said: “London’s determination to kill off this environmentally ruinous and highly disruptive scheme is growing, so it’s no surprise that the mayor has joined the cross-party group of councils in their legal action.
“With the confidence of their lawyers high, the courts could be ruling out the third runway, once and for all, long before Heathrow have even had a chance to launch their campaign for a fourth”.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We will support the Department for Transport in its response.
“We are confident in the process that has taken place so far, meaning that legal challenges are unlikely to be successful – the Airports National Policy Statement is supported by extensive evidence prepared by both the Department for Transport and the Airports Commission and has been subject to multiple rounds of public consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny.
“Judicial reviews are a completely normal process in infrastructure projects of this size and our work on our planning application continues, to ensure the timeline for the delivery of an expanded Heathrow is not affected.”