Yahoo Finance Public to get first say on Heathrow expansion for three years in consultation
The public will be able to give feedback for the first time in more than three years on Heathrow’s expansion as part of a consultation being launched by the airport next year.
The 10-week public planning consultation, which starts on Jan 17 and will run until March 28, will allow the public to put forward their views on various factors of the expansion scheme.
These include the design of terminals, how best to mitigate the environmental impacts of the airport and also key aspects such as whether to bridge over or tunnel under the M25. It will also look at whether flights should be concentrated over a single area or spread out over several.
The airport said it would be keeping its promise to property owners whose homes will be demolished due to the expansion of paying them full market value plus 25pc and so this would not feature in the consultation. It also said it would stick to a 6.5 hour ban on scheduled night flights - but would be able to comment on when flights would start and finish - and only release new capacity if strict air quality limits could be met.
Heathrow said it had been working with airlines and various local bodies to shape its plans and suggested phasing the construction to help keep airport charges “close to current levels”.
Chief executive John Holland Kaye recently said the airport had taken costs down compared to its initial £17bn estimate. This has partly been caused by the emergence of a rival scheme from Arora Group, the largest landowner at Heathrow, which says it can deliver a third runway project for £12.4bn.
Responses will be collated by the airport once the consultation closes and help it create its masterplan for expansion, which will then be consulted on publicly again in 2019.
