Campaigners have won a High Court battle over plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Councils, residents and green groups had said the government's approval of the runway was flawed by "conspicuously unfair" public consultations.

The group argued that the decision was at odds with climate change targets.

Lord Justice Carnwath, sitting in London, upheld their argument that the government's policy support for a third runway will need to be looked at again.

The decision does not rule out a new runway but calls for a review "of all the relevant policy issues, including the impact of climate change policy".

The Department for Transport vowed to "robustly defend" the third runway plan.

This judgement is a victory - it means that whichever party is in government they will not now be able to force through Heathrow expansion
John McDonnell
Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington

The coalition that sought the judicial review into the government's decision, which was made in 2003 and confirmed in January 2009, includes six local authorities, Greenpeace and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

The coalition said in a joint statement that the government's Heathrow policy was "in tatters this morning" after the judge ruled the decision to give the third runway the go ahead was "untenable".

The statement said: "If the government wants to pursue its plans for Heathrow expansion it must now go back to square one and reconsider the entire case for the runway."

Hayes and Harlington Labour MP John McDonnell, who has led the campaign against the expansion of Heathrow for the past 30 years, said: "This judgment is a victory. It means that whichever party is in government they will not now be able to force through Heathrow expansion."

Gordon Brown: New runway is "entirely compatible with our carbon reduction target"

In his ruling, Lord Justice Carnwath said: "Whether there should be a third runway at Heathrow Airport is a question of national importance and acute political controversy.

"It is a matter on which the main parties are currently divided and which may well become a significant debating point at the forthcoming general election."

He adjourned the hearing until after Easter to give both sides time to consider what formal orders the court should make.

Following the ruling, Transport Secretary Lord Adonis reaffirmed the government's support for expansion, stating that Heathrow Airport was currently operating at "full capacity".

He stressed the judgement did not rule out a new runway, but called for a review "of all the relevant policy issues, including the impact of climate change policy".

'Underpin economic growth'

Lord Adonis said: "A new runway at Heathrow will help secure jobs and underpin economic growth as we come out of recession.

"It is also entirely compatible with our carbon reduction target, as demonstrated in the recent report by the Committee on Climate Change."

ANALYSIS
By Richard Scott
Transport Correspondent
The decision was greeted with jubilation by campaigners.

Outside the High Court they waved their copies of the judgement and drank champagne.

The decision means that at the very least Labour would have to re-run the consultation on a third runway.

Campaigners hope that will mean that if Labour were to win the election, they would have the perfect excuse to drop the policy.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have also opposed a third runway but campaigners were worried that if they formed the new government they could change their minds under lobbying from British Airways and airports operator BAA.

They think this judgement makes this less likely.

This ruling is a huge blow to Labour on one of its flagship transport policies and they will now have a lot of thinking to do.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the new runway would "help secure jobs and underpin economic growth".

"We are taking seriously both the concerns that people have and the need for public consultation," he said.

"But we took a tough decision, the right decision necessary for the future of Britain and the economy, and a new runway will help secure Britain's economic future."

But Conservative leader David Cameron said the ruling showed the government had made "the wrong judgement".

He said: "We said the third runway shouldn't go ahead, we were absolutely clear about that."

The coalition against the runway had argued that there was no evidence to support the government's claim that there will be enough public transport to serve it.

In approving the third runway, the government had said the environmental conditions for expansion at Heathrow set out in the 2003 Air Transport White Paper (ATWP), relating to noise, air quality and access, could be met.

But Lord Justice Carnwath ruled the coalition's submissions "add up, in my view, to a powerful demonstration of the potential significance of developments in climate change policy since the 2003 White Paper".

He said they were "clearly matters which will need to be taken into account" under the new national policy statement (NPS) dealing with airport expansion.

Nigel Pleming QC, for the coalition, said the "economic and environmental" position had fundamentally changed since 2003, which raised the question of whether the government should continue to support the expansion.

While ordering it be reconsidered, the judge refused to quash the government's decision to "confirm policy support" for a third runway, stating that he doubted whether such an order would be appropriate.

map showing plans for expanded Heathrow Airport


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