Transport Committee to examine Airports National Policy Statement

The Transport Committee is to carry out an inquiry into the revised proposal for an Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) tabled by the Government on 24 October.

The final report from the Airports Commission, published in July 2015 concluded that the proposal for a northwest runway at Heathrow Airport provided the best option for runway expansion in South East England. In October 2016, the government announced that the runway was its preferred scheme.

The plans have been included in the draft Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), subject to consultation in accordance with the wider procedures laid down in the Planning Act 2008.  The NPS must receive Parliamentary approval before Heathrow Airport can submit a development consent application to the Planning Inspectorate, which then makes a recommendation to the Secretary of State on whether planning consent should be granted.

Transport Committee chair Lilian Greenwood MP said: “The committee has a vital role in scrutiny when it comes to the important issue of expanding runway capacity in the South East. Our inquiry will examine, in detail, the government’s plans for delivering the new runway, including the economic benefits, mitigating the environmental impact and the action proposed to support affected communities.”

The current committee’s predecessor in the last Parliament started an inquiry into the proposal for an NPS but this was terminated by the dissolution of Parliament ahead of the general election on 8 June 2017.

The deadline for written evidence submissions by Thursday 30 November

Transport secretary Chris Grayling has launched a consultation on the revised draft Airports National Policy Statement and government response to the airspace consultation.

Grayling said the government was “on track” to publish final proposals for expansion at Heathrow in the first half of 2018 for a vote in Parliament.

The public has until 19 December to consider and respond to new evidence in the revised draft Airports National Policy Statement, including long-term aviation forecasts and the new government National air quality plan.

Once MPs approve the final document, it will set the planning policy framework, which the airport needs in order to bring forward a planning application for the new north-west runway.