The 12-week project is the latest stage of the ‘critical national infrastructure’ project and follows the High Court’s dismissal of legal challenges against the addition of a third runway at Heathrow.
The consultation will seek feedback on four key areas, including the preferred masterplan for expansion (including terminal locations and road access) and how three runways would be operated.
It will also cover the likely impact of the airport’s growth on the environment and local communities and plans to manage the impact of growth.
New CGI imagery has been issued that shows how the airport could look with a third runway, while an augmented reality model of the expanded Heathrow will demonstrate the effect of noise insulation on properties overflown by aircraft.
Currently, Heathrow expects a third runway to open in 2026 and the overall masterplan to be complete by around 2050.
“Heathrow’s expansion is a project of huge national and local significance, and it is critical to our country’s economic growth,” says Emma Gilthorpe, Heathrow’s Executive Director for Expansion.
“An expanded hub airport will allow the country to access more of the world, create thousands of jobs locally and nationally and it will open up new trading routes.”
Following the conclusion of the consultation, Heathrow will submit a final proposal to the Planning Inspectorate in 2020.
