Page 1 of 2

12 Gough Square

London

EC4A3DW

Direct

Main

fax

Government Legal Department

102 Petty France,

Westminster, London

SW1H 9GL

Ref: Z1909826/EDJ/JD3

16 February 2021

Dear Sir or Madam

Good Law Project: Request for suspension and review of the Airports National Policy

Statement

Thank you for your letter of 1 February 2021, in which you set out the reasons why the

Secretary of State is unable to provide an answer to our clients’ request at this stage.

Our clients have made a focused and limited request that the Secretary of State should consider

whether it is appropriate to review and suspend the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) in

light of the climate change commitments made by the UK since the ANPS was designated in

2018, and given the impact of the pandemic on aviation. It is worth stressing that our clients’

request at this stage is not that the Secretary of State should commit to a particular policy position

in the ANPS – it is simply that the Secretary of State should consider reviewing and suspending

the ANPS in line with his legal obligations under the Planning Act 2008.

In your letter, you state that “a decision whether or not to review the ANPS should only be made

once the review requests have been fully considered, and appropriate policy and legal input has

been received”. With respect, that response seems to look past the urgency of our request. The

reasons for this urgency are clearly set out in our letter of 18 December 2020. More practically,

Heathrow Airport Limited has confirmed during Supreme Court proceedings (and more recently

in the media) that it intends to proceed with its plans for the third runway at Heathrow despite the

pandemic. It is therefore essential that the Secretary of State consider our client’s request (and

other similar requests) at the earliest before a DCO application is made and decided on the basis

of an outdated policy statement.

In light of that, we would be grateful if you could:

1. Provide a clear indication of the date by which the Secretary of State expects to provide

his decision; and

Page 2 of 2

PAGE 2

16 February 2021

2. In any event, disclose any information, correspondence and documents explaining the

intentions of Heathrow Airport Limited or any other relevant parties in relation to

Development Consent Orders (DCOs) for the development of Heathrow Airport and any

other affected airport. This includes (but is not limited to) any requests for advice on

making a DCO application that the Secretary of State or Department for Transport may

have received after 1 December 2020.

We would be grateful for a response from the Secretary of State as soon as possible, and in any

event, by 26 February 2021. Our clients reiterate their intention to proceed with judicial review

proceedings should it prove necessary.

Please send all correspondence by email to ( ) and

( ).

Yours faithfully

Hausfeld & Co LLP