Campaigners Believe Third Runway Killed Off After Legal Appeal Win

Court decides that environmental factors weren't fully taken into account



Campaigners against the expansion of Heathrow Airport are celebrating what they believe is a decisive legal victory.

The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of a group of councils and environmental groups who had argued that the government’s decision to go ahead was invalid because they hadn’t taken proper account of changes in environmental policies.

Last year Wandsworth joined forces with four local councils, the Mayor of London and Greenpeace, joined to legally challenge the Government’s decision to favour a proposal for a new north-west runway at Heathrow. Following the decision these councils said today (27th February) that the Government now had a duty to put an end to the years of anxiety and uncertainty suffered by communities affected by airport expansion plans. This time, they said, no third runway should mean no third runway.

Cllr Ravi Govindia, Leader of Wandsworth Council said: “The decision will be a massive relief for Londoners and people in the Home Counties affected by Heathrow. It shows that no Government can expect to drive through major expansion plans without properly considering the full environmental and climate change impacts. It’s also a terrific win for the local authorities who have fought a long battle on behalf of their communities. If democratically-elected councils won’t stand up for their residents’ interests and protect their quality of life – who will?”

Supporters of the appeal had gathered outside the court this Thursday morning and celebrated when they heard the result. Those who had brought the appeal included Plane Stupid, Stay Grounded, Grow Heathrow, Hacan, No 3rd Runway Coalition, Greenpeace and Richmond, Hillingdon, Wandsworth, Maidenhead and Windsor councils.

This now calls into question any expansion of Heathrow as the government has confirmed they do not plan to appeal against the ruling. Heathrow has said that they will be appealing.


However, the judge Lord Justice Lindblom said an expansion has not been ruled out. He said: "Our decision should be properly understood. We have not decided, and could not decide, that there will be no third runway at Heathrow.

"We have not found that a national policy statement supporting this project is necessarily incompatible with the UK's commitment to reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change under the Paris Agreement, or with any other policy the government may adopt or international obligation it may undertake.

"The consequence of our decision is that the government will now have the opportunity to reconsider the NPS in accordance with the clear statutory requirements that parliament has imposed."

Heathrow had been hoping before the ruling to start work as early next year with a possible completion in 2029 but this is unlikely to happen now.

They have issued a statement saying, "We will appeal to the Supreme Court on this one issue and are confident we will be successful.

"In the meantime, we are ready to work with the government to fix the issue that the court has raised.

"Heathrow has taken a lead in getting the UK aviation sector to commit to a plan to get to net zero emissions by 2050, in line with the Paris Accord."



MP for Putney, Fleur Anderson, welcomed the news telling this website: "I was delighted to be in the High Court today and hear this historic decision. The courts are on the side of local residents and campaigners and their decision is good news for local people and for the planet. The high Court ruled that the Government’s decision to go ahead with the third runway is unlawful and ‘legally fatal’. The Prime Minister should now stop wasting more money in the courts and call a halt to all Heathrow airport expansion. In Putney the noise and pollution from Heathrow is already unbearable, and children’s lungs are permanently damaged by air pollution. The planned extra 260,000 flights a year would be a disaster for us locally and can never be compatible with the government’s own carbon reduction targets. The battle is not over yet and I will continue to stand up for local residents and fight Heathrow expansion."

Cllr Ravi Govindia, Leader of Wandsworth Council, said: “Today’s judgment is a vindication of what has been a prolonged fight by this council on behalf of our residents. For two decades when the third runway at Heathrow was first suggested Wandsworth has opposed it because we knew it would blight the quality of life for our residents.

“In putting forward the case for a third runway, successive governments have failed to consider the full impact such an expansion would have on the environment, noise levels, and residents' health and well-being.

“I'm absolutely delighted by today’s judgement which comes at a time when this council has declared a Climate Change Emergency and is working hard to deliver the vision to become the greenest inner London borough and carbon neutral by 2030.

“The Government must now go back and revisit its airports policy and we all hope that this is the last time we hear of a third runway at Heathrow.”

Tim Crosland, Director of Plan B. Earth, said, “It would have been hard to imagine this outcome even a couple of years ago, but as the scale and impacts of the ecological crisis become clearer, with people dying and being displaced in the UK and around the world, it’s vital we reject the politics of division and unite amidst adversity.

“This is an important moment for all of us, and for our young people in particular. Some sanity is finally prevailing. It’s now clear that our governments can’t keep claiming commitment to the Paris Agreement, while simultaneously taking actions that blatantly contradict it. We welcome the ruling of the Court and we welcome the Government’s acceptance of it. The Government has a crucial responsibility to show real climate leadership ahead of COP26 and this is an important start.”

Reacting to the judgment, Paul McGuinness, Chair of the No 3rd Runway Coalition, said, “Clearly the courts have found an irredeemably large hole in the Government’s airports national policy statement which will now have to be withdrawn.

“But this only scratches the surface – the errors of assessment behind the policy are perforated with mistakes on noise, air quality and several other major issues. And with both the Committee on Climate Change and economists suggesting that Heathrow expansion would have been an assault on the regions, the project is no longer politically acceptable either.”

February 27, 2020

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