R. (on the application of the London Borough of Hillingdon and others) v. Secretary of State for Transport

Summary:

Claimants challenged the Secretary of State's preliminary approval (confirmation of policy support) of a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport in 2009, called the 2009 Decision. The claimants argued, among other things, that the 2009 Decision was at odds with points made in a report issued by the Climate Change Committee, a body established by the Climate Change Act of 2008. The court concluded that because the climate change and economic components of the government's air transport policy were not yet final, it could conduct only limited review of the 2009 Decision in relation to those points. The court did, however, agree with the claimants that the Secretary had failed to substantiate its characterization of the runway's affect on surface access (e.g., via the London tube's Piccadilly Line). For these and other reasons, the court determined that it would not quash the 2009 Decision, but invited the Secretary to issue a National Policy Statement that addressed several of the claimants' concerns.

At Issue: Coalition sought judicial review of government plans on airport expansion