New Civil Engineer
Thomas Johnson
20 August 2026
The Transport Committee has published it’s written evidence relating to the scrutiny of the Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS) where a number of bodies have questioned the government’s lack of guaranteeing the delivery of much needed infrastructure.
The HENPS, also referred to as the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), is the statutory framework that guides planning decisions for increasing airport capacity in the South East of the UK.
The new iteration will establish the government’s case for a new northwest runway at Heathrow and sets the environmental and legal criteria that any expansion proposal must meet to receive development consent.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander informed the House of Commons that a review was necessary because “new environmental and climate obligations have emerged since the ANPS was last completed in 2018”.
This update follows the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, which mandates that such statements be reviewed at least every five years...
