Ministers have formally endorsed a plan for Heathrow’s long-awaited third runway, selecting the airport owner’s £33bn proposal as the most viable route to expansion, according to The Guardian. Their decision means the government now backs a longer, more expensive 2.2-mile (3.5km) north-western runway that would straddle the M25 motorway and could, if all approvals proceed as expected, be operating by 2035.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the chosen scheme represented the “most credible and deliverable option” when compared with the competing submission from the Arora Group. She argued that Heathrow Airport Ltd’s proposal was already far more technically developed, particularly its plans for diverting and rebuilding the section of the M25 that would run beneath the new runway. Although the motorway work alone is set to cost around £1.5bn, Alexander noted that Arora’s idea would also have triggered notable disruption to the M25 while requiring additional home acquisitions.
Arora’s Heathrow West plan centred on a shorter 1.7-mile runway built farther east. Backers claimed it could be delivered for £23bn and would avoid shifting the M25, yet ministers concluded that the scheme lacked the maturity and detail required to ensure rapid progress. Both designs promised readiness by 2035, but the government judged Heathrow’s own blueprint to have the clearer path to full planning permission.
Alexander emphasised that the project must still satisfy the government’s four core tests covering environmental impact, economic value, noise limits and air quality standards. She said the decision would allow officials to advance “swiftly and decisively” towards securing the approvals needed by 2029. The aim, she added, is to bring benefits to passengers, businesses and the wider economy sooner, provided the scheme ultimately meets those strict conditions.
The government will now revisit the airports national policy statement, a key document required before the runway can move into the formal planning system. A full public consultation is scheduled to begin by July next year, giving communities, industry and stakeholders the chance to scrutinise and challenge the proposed expansion. (£1.00 = US$1.32 at time of publication).
