After years of indecision, Heathrow Airport may be close to securing approval from the Government to go ahead with the construction of a third runway.
A recent Whitehall study into air quality is said to have inadvertently boosted the Heathrow’s case. Should the plans be accepted, the Proposed runway is expected to be completed by 2025, and would cost around £17.6 billion.
The airport’s Chief Executive, John Holland-Kaye, has dismissed the concerns of a recent inquiry into air quality conducted by Transport for London, remaining confident that: “Everything we have seen suggests that it won’t be an issue. I suspect if it were we would know about that by now.”
Despite the fact that the airport has consistently broken legal limits in regards to the protection of air quality, Holland-Kaye emphasised that the most recent independent study by a group of Cambridge researchers provided clear encouragement for the Government to give the go ahead. Holland-Kaye also said the airport had undertaken further initiatives to mitigate air pollution, which are yet to be accounted for in studies.
However, Heathrow extension plans have been met by strong resistance from environmental campaigners such as Greenpeace, who are planning to mount a legal challenge against the agreement. The Greenpeace UK executive director, John Sauven, has stated that: “A third runway at Heathrow would be an air pollution and carbon timebomb.”
London’s second largest airport, Gatwick, have said that should Heathrow be given the go ahead, they also plan to formulate their own development plans.
“The government is very clear on the importance of making a decision, the need that there is to address the problems around airport capacity and the huge potential economic opportunities of airport expansion.
“Clearly it’s a decision that it’s important to get right so that future generations can benefit.”
She continued: “You can expect the decision soon. There has been no change in timing.”
Despite this statement, reports have suggested that the government has pushed back its initial decision date – which was Tuesday of this week – and it is thought that the deliberation on the agreement will be formally revealed on the 25th of October.