Local councils and Greenpeace consider legal challenge to stop expansion

A NUMBER of hurdles still have to be overcome before Heathrow Airport can be expanded.

The bid faces legal challenges, protests, a public consultation and a vote in the Commons before the third runway can be built.

Four Conservative-run local authorities; Windsor and Maidenhead, which is in Prime Minister Theresa May’s constituency, Richmond, Hillingdon and Wandsworth, and Greenpeace have formed an alliance and instructed lawyers to prepare a case against the decision.

They are considering the exact nature of their challenge, which could delay the start of construction.

The group worked together in 2010 to win a High Court battle over the plans by Gordon Brown’s government to expand the west London hub.

It is unclear whether Gatwick will go to court to challenge the decision rejecting its proposal for a second runway.

The West Sussex airport’s bosses insist they will be “standing ready to deliver” a second runway if the Heathrow plan cannot be delivered.

The Government’s announcement could trigger protests from residents worried about local impacts and environmentalists concerned about climate change.

Direct action by green campaigners may now intensify.

A draft national policy statement will be published in the new year setting out why the Government believes a third runway is the best option.

A free Commons vote would allow ministers such as Boris Johnson and Justine Greening to officially oppose the decision without the need to resign. Some 67 per cent of MPs support a third runway, according to a poll published by Heathrow on September 13.

Mr Johnson, the MP for nearby Uxbridge and South Ruislip said: “The day when the bulldozers appear is a long way off, if indeed they ever materialise.”