Hillingdon Council has raised major concerns that the government's draft Heathrow Expansion Policy Strategy (HENPS) appears more focused on enabling a third runway than determining whether it should proceed.
The council has submitted its response to the government's consultation on the draft HENPS, and an overview was shared at the council's Cabinet meeting tonight (Thursday 17 September).
Council officers also this week attended the Transport Committee's scrutiny session of the HENPS in Westminster and gave oral evidence outlining the council's position.
The council’s HENPS response reaffirms its longstanding opposition to expansion but flags key concerns that the draft policy contains no meaningful failure points, no clear red lines and, as a result, no obvious route to refusing a third runway.
The council says the draft policy fails to go far enough in providing Parliament with confidence that expansion is justified in principle. It argues that the government's own evidence identifies uncertainty around the scale and distribution of economic benefits, while the impacts on local communities, public services, transport networks, health and the environment are clear, substantial and, in many cases, unavoidable.
The response also raises concerns that the government's four tests for economic growth, air quality, noise and climate change contain no meaningful pass or fail criteria and do not clearly set out the circumstances in which expansion should be refused. The council argues that Parliament is being asked to endorse expansion before it has been demonstrated that it is acceptable.
Hillingdon's submission also highlights the unique burden placed on the borough as Heathrow's host authority, including the long-term impacts of noise, pollution, congestion, community disruption and pressure on local services. It also proposes the addition of a fifth, Community Impact Test, to scrutinise the effects of the airport’s operations on the borough and its residents.
While continuing to oppose expansion, the council says that, if the government chooses to proceed, the policy cannot be presented in its current form and must be fundamentally strengthened through tougher tests, stronger safeguards, independent oversight, enforceable mitigation measures, full funding for public service impacts and a fairer share of the benefits for the communities expected to bear the greatest impacts.
Cllr Steve Tuckwell, Leader of Hillingdon Council, said: "Our position to these proposals has never wavered: the council remains unequivocally opposed to Heathrow expansion. Our residents have already lived with decades of noise, pollution, congestion and uncertainty, and we do not believe a robust and sound case for a third runway has been made.
“The government's role is not to champion Heathrow expansion but to judge it fairly. Local people expect an independent assessment of the evidence and confidence that community impacts will be properly weighed. Our response shows that the HENPS reads more like a framework for making expansion happen, rather than fairly examining whether it should.
"The evidence from the government does not provide a compelling case for expansion and residents should not be expected to bear ever greater impacts for benefits that remain uncertain and heavily disputed. We will continue to fight to secure every possible protection for our communities and ensure their interests are never treated as an afterthought."
Read the council's full response at www.hillingdon.gov.uk/heathrow-expansion.