Heathrow airport expansion threatened by legal challenge

Councils, residents and environment groups representing several million people have launched a legal challenge against the government's decison to expand Heathrow airport with a new runway.

The coalition of 13 organisations claim that the consultation process for the new runway was flawed and that the decision was "irrational". They also argue that a third runway means that the UK risks breaching legal limits on noise and air pollution, that it will seriously undermine government climate change targets and that the costs of the project have not been properly assessed and will not benefit the economy.

If the legal challenge is successful, the decision would be quashed and the government would have to rerun the consultation. If the court agrees that the decision was irrational then the government may also be forced to review its entire aviation policy, which supports expanding nearly 30 airports across the country.

The 2M Group of 23 borough councils said yesterday that the new runway would be "disastrous" for those living near the airport and under the flight path. Backed by Transport for London and London mayor Boris Johnson, seven councils have joined Greenpeace, WWF-UK, RSPB and CPRE to claim that a Heathrow expansion will massively increase carbon emissions, and is incompatible with the pressing need to tackle climate change.

Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said: "The government's decision to expand Heathrow is completely at odds with the urgent need to slash emissions and stop runaway climate change. This is why we are launching a legal challenge.

David Norman, the director of campaigns at WWF-UK, said: "The decision to allow a third runway at Heathrow blows the chances of setting the UK onto a low carbon pathway completely out of the water. If the targets set in the Climate Change Act are to be meaningful, the government must stop adopting policies that undermine them."

If the third runway goes ahead the number of flights could be increased from 480,000 to 700,000 and the village of Sipson would be demolished.

This article first appeared on The Guardian

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