Plans to add a third runway at Heathrow face ‘insurmountable environmental problems’, which would make a Government decision to support them ‘irrational or otherwise unlawful’, council bosses have warned.
Solicitors for Hillingdon, Richmond, Wandsworth, and Windsor and Maidenhead councils have written to David Cameron setting out ‘why he cannot lawfully say yes to a third runway’.
The legal letter warns that the Government can expect court action unless it rules out expanding Heathrow.
Harrison Grant Solicitors, who led the councils' successful 2010 High Court challenge against previous expansion plans, claims that the recommendations of the Airports Commission, published last year, ‘were based on a flawed assessment of the impacts on air quality and noise’.
They say the commission's conclusions on air quality ‘were based upon an error of law’ and that proposals for reducing noise impacts rely on ‘mitigation measures which were speculative and have been wholly rejected by the industry as unworkable’.
The letter also reminds Mr Cameron of his previous ‘no ifs, no buts’ promise not to build a third runway, which they say has created a ‘legitimate expectation’ amongst the councils’ residents that this would not happen.
It also makes reference to the High Court's 2010 ruling, which overturned the Labour Government's plans for a new runway at the west London airport.
The councils’ solicitors claim that the scheme now being considered is more damaging than the previous plan, because the proposed runway is longer by 1,300m and suitable for use by larger planes, a higher number of air traffic movements is now predicted, the proposed land-take is more extensive, and more people are predicted to be affected by noise.
They also criticise the Government's approach to consultation as ‘selective, inadequate and incomplete’ and say that full and thorough consultation is legally required before it makes a National Policy Statement on aviation.
Cllr David Burbage, leader of Windsor and Maidenhead Council, said: ‘The Commission's work on air pollution and noise has been discredited and cannot be used to form a robust national aviation policy. The simple fact is that Heathrow expansion would be too noisy, polluting and damaging to local communities. It's time for ministers to recognise the huge weight of evidence that shows that the third runway plan is impossible.’
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: 'We would not comment on speculative legal action. The Government has accepted the case for airport expansion in the south-east and is undertaking a package of further work, including testing the Commission’s analysis further against the Government’s new air quality plan, as recommended by the Environmental Audit Committee.
'We want to see the best possible package of measures to mitigate the impacts on local communities and the environment. We expect to conclude this work by the summer.'
