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Heathrow expansion must comply with environmental conditions, says MPs

The UK government’s House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has said plans to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport should not be approved unless it can demonstrate it can comply with environmental conditions set out in a report by The Airport’s Commission in July.

The independent commission, led by Sir Howard Davies, published its final report in the summer on increasing runway capacity in London, concluding that Heathrow Airport was the preferred option for expansion.

The Audit Committee, led by the Prime Minister, is set to formally respond to the report by the end of the year. However, earlier this week, sources told The Telegraph that the decision would be made ‘within days’.

Environmental Audit Committee chair, Huw Irranca-Davies said: “The government has a duty to reduce illegal levels of air pollution in London to protect the health and well-being of its population.”

“The communities living near to the roads around Heathrow already put up with noise and extra traffic, it would be quite unacceptable to subject them to a potentially significant deterioration in air quality as well.”

The committee said Heathrow must demonstrate it can expand within legal air pollution limits, demonstrate efforts to reduce noise pollution, cover the cost of improvements to surface transport and introduce a night flight ban.

MPs also wanted assurance that aviation emissions in 2050 will be no higher than 2005 levels, as set out in the Climate Change Act.

Irranca-Davies continued: “Planes are becoming more fuel efficient, but this alone will not keep aviation emissions in line with the government’s climate change targets given the growth in passenger numbers. Even without expansion, aviation is on track to exceed its climate change target.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .