Legal action threat over Heathrow expansion

8.10.03pm GMT Sat 23rd Feb 2008

• A ROBUST, official response to the Government's plans for expanding Heathrow airport is to be fired off by Richmond upon Thames Council, which has vowed to consider legal action to halt the proposals.

The Council's Cabinet, on Monday February 25, will finalise the response - and legal action is not ruled out. The Cabinet report states: "Consideration is being given to the scope for a legal challenge." The proposals for a third runway and sixth terminal would mean an increase in the number of flights in and out of the airport from the present limit of 480,000 a year to around 702,000 by 2030. This is equivalent to building a new airport the size of Gatwick and will increase flights affecting the borough by nearly 50 per cent. The Government's consultation officially ends on February 27.

Council Leader, Cllr Serge Lourie, said: "We believe this development will be an environmental disaster and that the quality of life of residents in our borough and across swathes of London will be irreparably damaged. Increased noise nuisance and air pollution will lead to more misery for local people and the huge breadth of opposition to these plans clearly indicates that most residents feel: enough is enough. We are responding to these plans very robustly and will leave the Government in no doubt about our view, and won't hesitate to take legal action if appropriate.

"We are not against the airport, but this endless expansion must stop and we believe that the Government has not made either the environmental or economic case for it. Along with our colleagues in the 2M Group, an alliance of local councils fighting expansion, we will continue to make our case as the Secretary of State considers all the evidence and makes her decision. We intend her to know that this issue will not fade away just because the consultation has ended. Over the coming months we will continue lobbying Government hard and making our voice heard in other ways too. This is very much a battle we can win. Expansion is not a foregone conclusion. It can be stopped," Cllr Lourie added.