Heathrow wins runway appeal
All areas: Supreme Court overturns third runway ruling
Heathrow Airport has won a Supreme Court challenge over a ruling which said plans for a third runway were unlawful.
The proposed expansion was blocked in February following a ruling by the Court of Appeal.
It said the Government’s Airports National Policy Statement, which supported the development of a third runway, failed to take into account the UK’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Legal action had been brought against the Government by environmental charities Plan B and Friends of the Earth.
Heathrow challenged the ruling and the Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that the decision to block the third runway will be overturned.
Lord Sales, delivering the verdict virtually, said: “The Supreme Court unanimously allows the appeal.
“It finds that the Secretary of State did take the Paris Agreement into account.
“He was not legally required to give it more weight than he decided was appropriate in line with the advice of the committee on climate change. The National Policy Statement is not affected by any unlawfulness and is valid.”
Heathrow Airport described the Supreme Court’s ruling as ‘the right result for
the country’ which will help create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
A spokesperson said: “Demand for aviation will recover from COVID-19, and the additional capacity at an expanded Heathrow will allow Britain as a sovereign nation to compete for trade and win against our rivals in France and Germany.”
Friends of the Earth said it was unlikely Heathrow would secure planning permission for a third runway and the judgement was ‘no green light’ for expansion.
Councillor Andrew Johnson, leader of the Royal Borough, told the Express the council will not continue funding a legal challenge against the third runway.
The borough, along with four other local authorities, failed in its bid to secure a judicial review into the expansion of Heathrow and had previously set aside £150,000 for its legal battle. About £50,000 of that money was spent.
Cllr Johnson said: “I think we just took the view that we’ve had a good go but it wasn’t a good use of taxpayers’ money to continue fighting on that particular front.
“We’re still opposed to expansion of Heathrow, but given the economic state of that operator and indeed the entire airline industry, I would question just how viable the prospect of expansion is going to be in the future.
“Do I think it’s right to continue spending taxpayers’ money fighting that particular issue at this time? No I don’t.”
Councillor James Swindlehurst, leader of Slough Borough Council, said the ruling was positive news
‘not just for Slough, but the whole of the UK’.
Speaking on Wednesday, he said: “Today’s decision presents the Government with real opportunity to support local communities like ours and it should now act to unlock the economic potential an expanded Heathrow will bring, not just to Slough’s residents, businesses and communities, but those communities and businesses the length and breadth of Britain who have been pushed to the brink by COVID-19.”
The Labour councillor added the decision did not give Heathrow a ‘free pass’ with regard to its environmental commitments and he expected the airport to present a more environmentally sustainable operating model.