Environmental group Friends of the Earth – which challenged the third runway plan– said that expansion is still “far from certain”, while rival expansion bidder Heathrow Hub maintains that the cost of the third runway remains prohibitive.
Although the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Paris Agreement was in fact adequately considered, Friends of the Earth head of legal Will Rundle emphasised that the judgement is “no ‘green light’ for expansion”.
He added: “It makes clear that full climate considerations remain to be addressed and resolved at the planning stage. Heathrow expansion remains very far from certain and we now look forward to stopping the third runway in the planning arena.”
The Supreme Court has lifted a ban on the Heathrow Airport third runway scheme, meaning the project team could seek planning permission for the megaproject.
The ban was issued by the Court of Appeal in February, when judges ruled that the plans had been unlawfully approved by government. They said that Chris Grayling, who approved the scheme as transport secretary in 2018, failed to take into account the UK’s carbon commitments as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
However the Supreme Court today ruled that Grayling did take the Paris Agreement into account and ensured that its obligations were included in the framework for the airport expansion. Judges at the UK s highest court said that the framework, known as the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), was structured carefully to ensure that when the project was put forward for development consent, it was compatible with the requirements of the Paris Agreement that were up to date at the time.
Tony Kay who has joined Construction Alliance North East s management board CONSTRUCTION Alliance North East has made a new appointment to their management board. Tony Kay has become the latest addition to the Construction Alliance North East (CAN) management board as the regional alliance targets procurement opportunities for North East contractors in 2021. CAN was formed in 2015 to better represent regional SME contractors in the North East and has grown to represent more than 500 businesses in the region since. Joining the board, Mr Kay, president of the Northern Counties Builders Federation (NCBF), brings a wealth of experience. As commercial director at Classic Masonry and Bespoke Concrete Products, he has more than 35 years of experience in the industry.
By Tom Lowe2020-12-14T13:13:00+00:00
Discussions with EDF come at same time as publication of energy white paper
The government has started talks with French energy giant EDF about the construction of the £20bn Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said negotiations over the scheme, which has come under fire from campaigners for its hefty price tag, would be subject to agreeing a value-for-money deal before a final decision to proceed can be taken.
It added that the conclusion of the talks would be put under “thorough scrutiny” in order to satisfy the government’s “robust legal, regulatory and national security requirements”.