Campaigners against the third runway in Heathrow were celebrating after judges ordered a review of the plans, particularly with respect to their effect on climate change policy.

Heathrow Coalition Against Aircraft Noise reported:

The Government’s airport expansion policy is in tatters this morning (26th March) after a Judge ruled that ministers did not properly consult on a number of key issues before attempting to give consent to a third runway at Heathrow airport.

The Judge ruled that a January 2009 statement to the House of Commons by Geoff Hoon giving the green light to Heathrow expansion had no legal substance. He dismissed the Government’s claims to the contrary as ‘untenable in law and commonsense’.

The implications of today’s ruling are profound, not just for Heathrow but for airport expansion plans across the UK. The Heathrow decision is blown wide open, with the Government ordered to go back to the drawing board and consult on a number of key issues where the Judge found the Government’s position to be questionable. The judge ruled that if the Government decides to push ahead with the runway project it must now review the climate change implications of Heathrow expansion, the economic case for a third runway, and the issue of how additional passengers would get to a bigger airport. He also ruled that the Government’s entire aviation policy must now be reviewed to take into account the implications of the 2008 Climate Change Act.

Local Labour MP John McDonnell added, “In essence, this judgment means that the game is up for a third runway at Heathrow and I am calling upon the government to accept the inevitable and lift this threat to my community.”

Reader comments

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