The news that environmentalists are planning to set up a week-long Climate Camp near Heathrow in August is a further indication that the battle for the future of Heathrow is hotting up.
On one side, opposed to further expansion, are local campaign groups such as HACAN and NOTRAG (No Third Runway Action Group), the local authorities under the umbrella 2M, the London Assembly, the Mayor of London, most of the area’s MPs as well as national environmental organisations and as well as the environmentalists from the Climate Camp and the direct action organisation, Plane Stupid.
On the other side are the Government, BAA Ferrovial, British Airways and a lot of the airlines as well as some trade unions and business interests.
The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party are both opposed. The Conservatives are yet to make up their minds but have come out with a discussion document which is looking to move their national policy in a greener direction.
The Government’s timetable now looks something like this:
Summer or Autumn 2007: Publication of Project Heathrow Study into future air pollution levels around Heathrow. The Government is expected to go for the highly optimistic scenario that air pollution limits can be kept within the EU legal limits due to a mix of cleaner planes and controls on car traffic around the airport even with a third runway and more use of the existing runways in place.
Autumn 2007: Consultation on a 3rd runway, 6th terminal and proposals to end runway alternation, the practice whereby planes currently landing over West London switch runways at 3pm to allow residents a half day’s peace and quiet).
March 2008: Terminal 5 set to open at Heathrow. This will provide the extra terminal capacity to allow BAA to bring in extra planes on the existing runways.
End 2008/early 2008: BAA moves towards Public Inquiry into 3rd runway at Heathrow?
If the Government and BAA Ferrovial get their way, and runway alternation is ended and a 3rd runway built, the number of planes using Heathrow could rise to 800,000 a year. Up from 473,000 last year.
But the expansion may never happen. The opposition is growing by the month. Many people are coming to see Heathrow as a key battleground in the fight to overturn the Government’s aggressive national expansionist policy as set out in the 2003 Aviation White Paper.