Yahoo Finance Rival Heathrow expansion scheme considers legal action against Government
The backers of a rival Heathrow expansion scheme are considering legal action against the Government in the wake of the airport’s move to propose potential revisions to its plans.
Heathrow Hub, fronted by former Concorde pilot Jock Lowe, has criticised the Government for allowing Heathrow airport to offer up new ideas for its expansion because this could take the eventual scheme away from what was originally submitted.
Heathrow started its 10-week consultation on Wednesday and said it would be consulting on three different runway lengths between 3,200 metres and 3,500 metres. This is in spite of the Government’s own documents on the expansion stipulating the need for a runway of “at least 3,500 metres”.
The consultation also outlined potential plans for moving the M25 and putting the motorway through a tunnel under the new runway, a concept it had previously proposed but without such detail.
Heathrow Hub said the fact the airport was “still producing new ideas” for its expansion made it a Heath Robinson plan, a reference to the English cartoonist known for drawing ridiculously complicated machines for achieving simple objectives.
A spokesperson for Heathrow Hub, which wants to expand the existing northern runway, said: “We are indeed considering legal action on the basis that the process has been unreasonable.”
The spokesperson added if Heathrow Hub did launch legal proceedings, it would aim to get the money it spent submitting its proposals for expansion to the Government refunded.
Such a move, Heathrow Hub would hope, could pressure the Government into accepting its scheme. The organisation has said its project would be phased, with a £3.9bn runway extension taking place first.
Its total project, which also includes moving the M25, would cost £9.7bn – more than £4bn cheaper than Heathrow’s more recent proposals which have been cut from the initial £17bn.
Heathrow Hub also contends its plan could accommodate the same amount of aircraft movements – 740,000 –- as the plan by the airport and therefore believes the Government should be giving it equal weight in the National Policy Statement (NPS), a document which will be voted on by MPs this year and is the first stage to a scheme being built.
Heathrow airport said it thought that "providing some flexibility on the specification of the precise runway length would not undermine the NPS and its objectives".
It added each of the runway lengths could accommodate the same number of flights but shorter runways would need less land which would provide "an opportunity to move either one or both runway ends away from Colnbrook and Sipson, also reducing noise for local communities".
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said it was "currently reviewing the evidence submitted to our consultation on the draft National Policy Statement, which we will respond to in due course".
"Heathrow Airport are carrying out a consultation that is entirely separate and independent to the Government’s National Policy Statement process and will look at some of the airport’s emerging proposals for expansion."
