Heathrow airport expansion 'on track' despite MPs' warning of environmental damage, says Transport Secretary

Call by Commons transport select committee to slam the brakes on third runway plans without tough new restrictions on costs, pollution, aircraft noise and night flights

The Transport Secretary has brushed off a fresh warning from MPs of huge environmental damage from building a third runway at Heathrow, insisting the expansion is “on track”.

Chris Grayling said Parliament would be asked to approve the £14bn project in a crucial vote this summer, with construction to start around 2020 after detailed design work.

“This is a project that’s on track,” Mr Grayling said, adding: “This is a really important project for us in the post-Brexit world.”

The pledge came despite a call by the all-party Commons transport select committee to slam the brakes on the expansion without tough new restrictions on costs, pollution, aircraft noise and night flights.

In a stinging report, the committee demanded stronger safeguards to protect local residents and airport passengers before the plans are approved.

The Government’s national policy statement (NPS) – the planning consent needed to pave the way for the two-mile runway – should only be passed if the new environmental conditions were imposed.

Approval should also only be granted if Heathrow can guarantee not to worsen air quality in west London, or increase the number of polluting cars being driven to the airport.

The proposed existing six-and-a-half-hour ban on night flights should be extended to seven hours, the MPs said – and they demanded clarity on changes to rail and road links, particularly the M25.

Without these safeguards, there was a risk that anti-Heathrow groups would successfully block the project through the courts, the committee warned.

“They need to provide some assurance for local communities around air quality, around noise, around potential traffic congestion,” said Lillian Greenwood, the committee’s chair.

“Also, they need to protect passengers from spiralling costs and make sure that airport charges can be held at the current level.”

The report comes amid reports that some senior Labour figures are debating whether to shift the party’s stance against a third runway, because of the environmental damage.

John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor – whose west London constituency lies under the Heathrow flightpath – is a long-time opponent of expansion.

On the Conservative side, Boris Johnson once vowed to lie down “in front of those bulldozers and stop the building, stop the construction of that third runway” – a promise apparently now abandoned.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Grayling said MPs would vote before the summer recess on whether to give the outline planning consent.

He dismissed concerns about the M25, arguing the detailed design work to follow would determine whether the new runway would pass over it, or be placed in a tunnel.

“We are moving ahead to the timetable we set when we brought forward our recommendation a year ago,” Mr Grayling said.

Pointing to the aim to strike post-Brexit trade deals around the world, he added: “This is a project we should be excited about. This is a project that is really important for the future of the country.”