Heathrow expansion plans unveiled

The new runway to the north of the airport would be longer than originally envisaged and could be in operation by 2020. Until then, changing arrangements to allow take-offs and landings from the same runway would increase capacity at Heathrow.

A third runway, to be 2,200m long, could be built while meeting noise and air quality targets, the Government said. The number of take-offs and landings a year would rise from 480,000 now to 702,000 by 2030.

But in the next few years, noise from Heathrow will increase for some, although decrease for others, while a third runway would mean the loss of the entire village of Sipson.

A third runway could also mean higher noise levels at some schools in the area, the loss of more than 100 acres of Green Belt land, and the loss of some historic buildings.

The Government also proposed the scrapping of a 56-year-old deal that kept noise from planes over the village of Cranford, close to the airport, to a minimum.

A third runway would also result in 4.5 million extra air passenger journeys a year on the Tube's Piccadilly line, four million more journeys a year on mainline trains and 25 million extra passenger trips by road.

Launching the proposals, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said that if nothing changed, Heathrow's status as a world-class airport would be "gradually eroded".

She also admitted that the whole issue raised "strong feelings on all sides" - a correct assessment given the strength of the attack on the proposals which followed from residents' groups and environmentalists.

While airlines, Heathrow operator BAA and big business welcomed the proposals, groups such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Campaign for Better Transport were bitterly opposed. The Government has now invited the public to make comments on the proposals. The consultation will end on February 27, 2008. Final policy decisions will be taken some time next year.