Heathrow Airport hits milestone with launch of planning consultation for 2018

Heathrow Airport has unveiled the details of its first phase of public planning consultation on a project set to be delivered in 2018.

The 10-week consultation is to launch on January 17 and run until March 28, aiming to give close communities and stakeholders an in-depth opportunity to shape Heathrow’s expansion proposals, aiming to support the airport in becoming more sustainable.

This consultation is the latest expansion milestone, trying to keep Heathrow on schedule to deliver the trading infrastructure Britain will need to succeed post-Brexit.

Emma Gilthorpe, Heathrow’s executive director of expansion, has said: “Expanding Heathrow is pivotal to Britain’s future prosperity and it’s a chance to make the airport a better neighbour for our local communities.

“Over the past year, we’ve been working hard to evolve our expansion plans and have come up with several new options to deliver it more responsibly and affordably. Next January, we’ll be sharing these options in a 10-week public planning consultation.

“By working together throughout the consultation, the public can help shape our plans and, jointly, we can ensure that expansion delivers for our passengers, businesses across Britain and importantly for our local communities.”

The consultation will be formed of two parts - the first on infrastructure design options for an expanded Heathrow and the airport’s approach to managing and reducing environmental and community impacts. The second is said to focus on future design principles for airspace.

In the past year, Heathrow has been working alongside local stakeholders and airline partners to evolve the expansion plans submitted to the Airports Commission.

The consultation starting in January should be an opportunity for the public to view our emerging proposals and options in detail and provide feedback on them.

These include options for the design of the expanded airport facilities, the reconfiguration of the M25, changes to local roads and rivers and use of nearby land for construction and other uses, as well as managing and reducing the effects of expansion on local communities and the environment.