Flying into a rage!
Furious eco campaigners vow to ‘fight all way’ after Heathrow runway court loss
GREEN campaigners last night vowed to keep fighti ng a third runway at Heathrow after i t was dramatically cleared for take-off.
They claimed that the £14billion project may never see the l i ght of day despite the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn an earlier judgment against it.
Friends of the Earth pledged to ‘fight it all the way’ while eco group Plan B said the verdict did not mean Heathrow expansion ‘now has the green light’.
The future of the two-mile runway – scheduled to open in 2030 – was thrown into doubt in February when t he Court of Appeal declared it to be unlawful on environmental grounds.
It said the expansion was illegal because Chris Grayling, the former transport secretary, failed to take account of the UK’s legal commitment to curb global warming under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
But the decision was reversed yesterday by a panel of five justices who said that Mr Grayling had acted lawfully by relying on domestic l egislation rather than the Paris accord.
The decision is a blow to environmental groups, which now plan to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
It also puts Boris Johnson – who once vowed to ‘lie down in front of the bulldozers’ to stop the runway – in a difficult position.
The Government did not seek to overturn the Court of Appeal ruling and issued no response to yesterday’s judgment.
Heathrow said it ‘will allow Global Britain to become a reality’. But critics say there are significant doubts over whether the runway will ever be built. The London airport, which has lost billions from the collapse in passenger numbers, still needs to raise £14billion in private investment to begin construction. And it will have to apply for a development consent order from the Planning Inspectorate.
Even if this is granted, it could easily be blocked by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who may feel the plans are incompatible with the Government’s ambition to cut emissions to net zero by 2050.
Mr Shapps recently overruled an inspectorate ruling which recommended scrapping plans for a new road tunnel under Stonehenge.
The airport also faces the prospect of demand stagnating for years due to Covid-19, raising questions over the need to expand.
British Airways, Heathrow’s biggest airline, said it does not expect passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024. Heathrow also faces further action in the European Court of Human Rights, to which the UK is still bound despite Brexit.
Will Rundle, head of l egal at Friends of the Earth, said: ‘ This judgment is no “green light” for expansion. It makes clear that full climate considerations remain to be addressed and resolved at the planning stage.
‘Heathrow expansion remains very far from certain and we now look forward to stopping the third runway in the planning arena.
‘With ever stronger climate policy commitments that Heathrow must meet, it remains unlikely it will ever get planning permission for the third runway.
‘Friends of the Earth will fight it all the way. We are in this for people everywhere facing climate breakdown right now, and for the next generation being left to inherit a world changed for the worse.’
Plan B director Tim Crosland said: ‘It’s simply one hurdle cleared.’
Heathrow said: ‘This is the right result for the country, which will allow Global Britain to become a reality.
Only by expanding the UK’s hub airport can we connect all of Britain to all of the growing markets of the world, helping to create hundreds of thousands of jobs.’
‘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.’
‘Significant doubts’