Campaigners against a third runway at Heathrow have won the right for a public hearing to examine their case. It sets the scene for a major showdown, probably this autumn, where protesters will argue a third runway will no longer be needed if high-speed rail goes ahead.

A coalition of green groups, residents and councils successfully fought in the High Court for a three-day public hearing into the case against the runway on the grounds of public interest.

The protesters said the Government had gone further than it should have done in approving BAA's bid to expand the west London airport. They claim former transport secretary Geoff Hoon's statement to Parliament in January, in which he gave the green light to the third runway, was "fundamentally different" from the proposals on which the Government consulted.

They also claimed the decision was incompatible with the Government's climate change policy. The next stage of the battle will draw on comments by new Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, that high-speed rail can replace some of the 100million short-haul flights from Heathrow each year, creating spare capacity.

Read the full article in The Evening Standard.


This is what we wanted. Let's see what the DfT comes up with as government "policy" in trying to defend the indefensible when the judicial review takes place.