Heathrow third runway opponents win court challenge

Heathrow third runway opponents win court challenge Campaigners have won a High Court battleCarbon fiber hood over plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Councils, residents and green groups had said the government's plan was at odds with climate change targets.

Lord Justice Carnwath said the public consultation process used was invalid as it was based on out-of-date figures.

The decision does not rule out a third runway but calls for government policy to be reviewed. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the runway was still needed.

The Department for Transport vowed to "robustly defend" the plan.

The judge, sitting in London, said the government's public consultation did not take account of the latest information on economic benefits and climate change and was based on figures which were eight years old.

The coalition that sought the judicial review into the government's decision, which was made in 2003 and confirmed in January 2009, includes six local authorities, Greenpeace and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). The coalition said in a joint statement that the government's Heathrow policy was "in tatters this morning" after the judge ruled the decision to give the third runway the go ahead was "untenable".

The statement said: "If the government wants to pursue its plans for Heathrow expansion it must now go back to square one and reconsider the entire case for the runway."

Hayes and Harlington Labour MP John McDonnell, who has led the campaign against the expansion of Heathrow for the past 30 years, said: "This judgment is a victory.

"It means that whichever party is in government they will not now be able to force through Heathrow expansion."

In his ruling, Lord Justice Carnwath said: "Whether there should be a third runway at Heathrow Airport is a question of national importance and Carbon fiber hoodacute political controversy.