A lesson in un-creativity: (R (on the application of Friends of the Earth Ltd and others) v Heathrow Airport Ltd [2020] UKSC 52. (December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hawkins, Joanne
• Is Part Of: Environmental law review. Volume 23:Number 4(2021)
• Page Start: 344
• Page End: 349
• Publication Date: 2021-12
• Subjects: Airports national policy statement -- Heathrow -- climate change -- Paris Agreement -- Planning Act 2008; Environmental law -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; Environmental law -- European Union countries -- Periodicals; 344.41046005
• DOI: 10.1177/14614529211052929
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1461-4529

Abstract

Plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport have been the subject of ongoing melodrama. In the latest instalment, (R (on the application of Friends of the Earth Ltd and others) v Heathrow Airport Ltd [2020] UKSC 52), the Supreme Court comprehensively reversed the Court of Appeal's judgment, rejecting the finding that the decision maker acted unlawfully in designating the Airport National Policy Statement (ANPS). This commentary highlights that the Supreme Court judgment signals a missed opportunity to develop a more creative approach to the polycentric and dynamic issue of climate change in the context of nationally significant infrastructure projects. It argues that the decision is, if not wholly unexpected, a disappointing one.