Hillingdon Council has lodged formal objections to the government’s draft Heathrow Expansion Policy Strategy (HENPS), arguing that the document provides “no obvious route to refusal” for a third runway.
The council’s response, submitted to the consultation and presented at its Cabinet meeting on yesterday (17 September), reiterates its longstanding opposition to airport expansion and flags a series of procedural weaknesses.
Council officers also attended a Transport Committee scrutiny session in Westminster, where they gave oral evidence outlining the borough’s position. They warned that the draft policy contains no meaningful failure points, no clear red lines and no defined criteria that would compel Parliament to reject the scheme.
The submission contends that the policy falls short of giving Parliament confidence that expansion is justified in principle. It points to government‑produced evidence that highlights uncertainty over the scale and distribution of economic benefits, while the impacts on local communities, public services, transport networks, health and the environment are described as clear, substantial and, in many cases, unavoidable.
The Council further criticises the four tests embedded in the draft — economic growth, air quality, noise and climate change — for lacking any pass or fail thresholds and argues that without such criteria, Parliament is being asked to endorse expansion before it is demonstrated that the project meets essential standards.
In addition to the existing tests, the council proposes a fifth “Community Impact Test” to scrutinise how Heathrow’s operations affect the borough and its residents. It stresses the unique burden placed on Hillingdon as the airport’s host authority, citing long‑term noise, pollution, congestion, community disruption and pressure on local services.
Cllr Steve Tuckwell, Leader of Hillingdon Council, said: “Our position to these proposals has never wavered: the council remains unequivocally opposed to Heathrow expansion. Our residents have already lived with decades of noise, pollution, congestion and uncertainty, and we do not believe a robust and sound case for a third runway has been made.
“The government’s role is not to champion Heathrow expansion but to judge it fairly. Local people expect an independent assessment of the evidence and confidence that community impacts will be properly weighed. Our response shows that the HENPS reads more like a framework for making expansion happen, rather than fairly examining whether it should.
“The evidence from the government does not provide a compelling case for expansion and residents should not be expected to bear ever greater impacts for benefits that remain uncertain and heavily disputed. We will continue to fight to secure every possible protection for our communities and ensure their interests are never treated as an afterthought.”
