Heathrow
01 August 2025
Learn more about Heathrow's expansion plans
Further to the submission yesterday Heathrow has now released its Proposal for Expanding Heathrow – The UK’s Gateway To Growth today which is launched with an event this morning.
Earlier this year, the Chancellor confirmed Government support for an expanded Heathrow to provide additional capacity at the UK’s only hub airport. Now, we are pleased to have submitted Heathrow’s expansion proposal to Government: a tested, deliverable plan to invest billions of pounds of private capital to ensure the UK’s Gateway to Growth will continue to help drive economic growth, locally and across the country.
I have attached a two-page summary of our proposal, including the scheme and the benefits it would deliver. You can also find a longer summary of our submission here.
Engaging with our local communities
This submission is not a formal planning application but sets out our proposal which Heathrow wishes to take forward. Our plan builds on decades of economic evidence and is shaped by years of consultation and engagement with our local communities.
We are mindful of the impact our operations can have on our local communities, and we appreciate that this news will be challenging for some of those living closest to the airport. We remain committed to ensuring that Heathrow is a good neighbour to the communities around the airport both now and in the future, including if we move forward with plans for expanding Heathrow.
We are grateful for the relationships we have built over many years. At the heart of all our work is our commitment to engaging openly and constructively to understand concerns and to provide accessible information and an ongoing dialogue. If the Government approves our plan, there will be opportunities for local communities to engage with our plans and participate in public consultation. Heathrow will also engage with communities via forums such as the Council for the Independent Scrutiny of Heathrow Airport (CISHA), the Local Community Forum, and the Heathrow Local Growth Taskforce.
Working closely with our local communities and authorities will ensure that investment in Heathrow translates to investment in the local supply chain, increased education and employment opportunities, improved transport links and the overall sustainable growth of the local area.
As we progress through this process for our expansion plans, we continue to work closely together with our local communities around the airport and remain focused on delivering on our Giving Back Programme pledge of bringing benefit to more than one million local people by 2030.
Delivering responsibly
As we go through the planning process, subject to Government confirming Heathrow as the organisation to take forward the expansion plans, we will consult with stakeholders to further develop the proposal and ensure it delivers benefits to local communities and businesses while minimising adverse impacts. We will deliver this in partnership with local councils, authorities, education providers, community members and our forums.
As part of the Development Consent Order (DCO), an Environmental Impact Assessment will assess likely significant effects of the construction and operation of our expansion project, with an Environmental Statement to be submitted as part of the application for development consent.
Expansion would be delivered alongside limiting and, where possible, reducing Heathrow’s noise footprint, achieved through a combination of quieter aircraft, improved flight management and operational flexibility enabled by a third runway.
Expanding Heathrow would also be delivered in full compliance with legal air quality limits and would deliver a net gain in biodiversity. We must demonstrate through our application for development consent that expanding Heathrow will not cause or contribute to any breach of legal limits.
Next steps
Our proposal will now be reviewed by the Government – and if we move forward, communities will have clear opportunities to engage with us on our plans. We understand that expansion may raise many questions and concerns for some of our nearest neighbours. We know the benefits that Heathrow expansion could bring – but we also understand the local impacts – and for some, the huge amount of uncertainty at this time. We are committed to listening to our local communities and to work through this process to bring clarity as soon as possible.
We have also prepared a website with key questions and answers about the local impact of expanding Heathrow, including further information on property schemes, compensation and community engagement, which you can find here.
If you would like to meet to discuss our proposal and what it means locally, or if you have any questions, please get in touch.
Sincerely,
Danielle Knafo
Stakeholder Engagement Manager
