Heathrow: The End Of The Beginning

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Cabinet has endorsed a proposal to build a third runway at Heathrow. It follows 15 years of deliberations over where to expand the UK’s airport capacity. Many view it not as the beginning of the end but as the end of the beginning.

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For those delighted at the decision, the path forward is arduous – to say the least. In brief the timeline includes publication of the Draft Airports National Policy statement, public consultation, the government’s response, parliamentary scrutiny and endorsement (all of which could take a year), a public examination by a planning inspector of the detailed plans (which could take another year), the inspector’s report, and the final decision of the Secretary of State for Transport.There has been huge opposition because of the environmental impact – noise and local air pollution – of adding capacity to an already large airport within the bounds of London.

MPs who represent affected constituencies are generally opposed, including Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, and Education Secretary, Justine Greening. Johnson, a former Mayor of London, whose opposition to a new runway was so vehement that he has said that he would lie down in front of the bulldozers to prevent the expansion. On the day of the announcement he said that “the day when the bulldozers appear is a long way off, if indeed they ever materialize”.