Environmental watchdog says Heathrow expansion unlikely

The head of the UK environmental watchdog has called the construction of a third runway at London’s Heathrow airport a “mistake” and added that it is not likely the runway will be built because of the political uncertainty around the plan.

Lord Smith of Finsbury, who is the Environment Agency chairman, suggested there was “a very big chance” the expansion project would come to a standstill due to the legal action threatened by environmentalists and political resistance from the Liberal Democrats and Tories.

“I think they are making a mistake for a number of reasons,” the chairman said. “It [the opposition] will evidently make it much more difficult for BAA [the airports operator] to make the decision to proceed with extensive planning and design work.”

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon gave the go-ahead to the expansion project earlier this month despite opposition from environmentalists, Labour backbenchers and both opposition parties.

Concessions were made at the last minute due to an internal cabinet disagreement, including a provision that the Civil Aviation Authority and the Environment Agency could prevent the runway being opened if it was likely to exceed air pollution and noise guidelines.

Lord Smith who is a former Labour cabinet minister, said to the Financial Times that the Environment Agency would be “rigorous” in its monitoring of these standards, indicating that some were already in potential breach.

Thanks to www.ft.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.environment-agency.gov.uk