Heathrow's fifth terminal given the go-ahead

Transport Secretary Stephen Byers has given the green light for the creation of a fifth terminal at London’s Heathrow Airport following the findings of a four-year public enquiry into the proposed scheme.

The airport’s operators, British Airports Authority (BAA) first applied for planning permission for a fifth terminal 14 years ago in order to meet increasing passenger and airline demand, and local campaign groups claim that the expansion scheme will bring employment to the area in addition to increasing London’s international standing with financial centres.

Although the terminal – named T5 – has received the go-ahead, certain restrictions have been imposed and there will only be an increase of around 20,000 flights per year to 480,000 flights per annum.

Environmental campaigners and local authorities have opposed the scheme, believing that the public enquiry has not been ‘neutral’ enough about the potential disadvantages of T5.

Earlier in the day, Peter Brown, speaking on behalf of 11 local authorities, said: “If T5 gets the go-ahead, we shall be looking very closely at the conditions attached. We want the conditions enforced and we do not want a repeat of the Heathrow Terminal 4 situation when promises on the number of flights were broken within a matter of months.”

BAA has projected that T5 will see around 30 million passengers passing through each year, easing demands on the airport’s other four terminals. However, opponents have estimated the true figure of overall traffic as possibly reaching around 100 million following the introduction of a fifth terminal, greatly overburdening local infrastructure and increasing noise and air pollution.

It is thought that Heathrow's T5 building will be operational by 2007. (CL)