Labour MP Fleur Anderson has urged residents to take part in the Government’s consultation on Heathrow expansion, warning that just days remain for people to have their say.
The Putney MP, a longstanding critic of Heathrow expansion, is encouraging constituents and others affected by aircraft noise and proposed changes around the airport to respond before the consultation closes at 11.59pm on 1 September.
Writing on X, Anderson said:
“Just 6 days to go to respond to the #Heathrow consultation. Please take 5 mins to object.”
She has also published guidance for residents on how to complete the consultation and is encouraging people to submit their views directly to the Department for Transport.
The consultation concerns the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement, which would provide the planning policy framework against which any future proposal for a third runway would be assessed. The Government stresses that the consultation itself does not grant planning permission for a new runway.
The draft framework covers issues including noise, air quality, climate impacts, communities, surface transport and the economic case for expansion.
Anderson has repeatedly raised concerns about the effect of Heathrow expansion on communities under flight paths. Earlier this month she questioned ministers about aircraft noise, including how future flight paths are being modelled and the potential costs of increased noise pollution for residents.
The Government argues that an expanded Heathrow could improve international connectivity and freight capacity while supporting more than 60,000 additional local jobs. It says the public consultation is intended to ensure residents, businesses and other organisations can shape the framework before it is finalised and put before Parliament.
But opponents continue to raise concerns about the environmental, noise and community consequences of a third runway, including the impact on communities surrounding the airport and beneath flight paths.
The Government consultation opened on 18 June and runs for more than ten weeks. Once it closes, ministers will consider the responses alongside parliamentary scrutiny before deciding whether to proceed with the revised National Policy Statement.
Anderson’s message to residents is that the remaining days provide an important opportunity to ensure those concerns are formally recorded before the consultation closes.
