Heathrow concessions may win over some protesters

The leading protest group against expansion of Heathrow airport has signalled that some local residents could drop their resistance in return for a package of concessions including an end to night flights over west London.

Just days after voters returned the Conservatives to power with an unexpected majority, pressure is mounting for a rapid decision in the fiercely contested battle over airport expansion in southeast England.

There are growing expectations that the government-appointed Davies Commission into aviation will recommend an extra runway at Heathrow over Gatwick when it reports in late June - a decision that would be welcomed by the business community but prompt an immediate political row.

Hacan has been a vehement campaigner against the project for years and in recent weeks has held protests outside Downing Street and at Heathrow Terminal 5.

John Stewart, chair of Hacan, said some of the group's members could come to a compromise if it included generous compensation, noise mitigation and reduced emissions.

"If the Davies Commission goes for Heathrow there would be undoubtedly fury among many people but it is equally true that others may be tempted by a package which included conditions to improve the noise climate and particularly any proposal to end night flights," he admitted.

Heathrow has already committed to no further increase in the number of night flights. But a total ban would have to be put to the board, a Heathrow source said, as it would be a commercial decision.

Whether to accept the Davies recommendation will be one of the most pressing decisions for the new administration, shorn of its Liberal Democrat partners who had opposed a new runway for southeast England.

Successive governments for more than 20 years have postponed or even reversed decisions on airport expansion because of highly charged political opposition. The commission was set up three years ago with the aim of finally resolving the political controversy with a wholly independent inquiry, led by Sir Howard Davies, the former chairman of the Financial Services Authority.

The business community and aviation industry have been pressing for a quick decision. Sir Howard in December estimated that failure to address airport expansion could cost the UK economy up to £40bn over 60 years. The CBI this week called on the new Conservative administration to commit in its first 100 days to implementing the commission's recommendation.

People close to the review process said the Conservative victory had increased the chances that action would finally be taken. "The worst outcome would have been a coalition in which the Liberal Democrats drew a red line," one person close to the process said. "In that sense the election was positive for something being done."

However, the government will face strong opposition from within its own ranks. A day after being appointed to David Cameron's political cabinet, Boris Johnson, current mayor of London and newly elected MP, has said the prospects of a third runway at Heathrow are "virtually nil" and suggested the Davies report should be shelved. "The truth is Heathrow is undeliverable. I will certainly oppose it, as will other MPs in west London," he told LBC radio. Mr Johnson has long favoured a new Thames estuary airport instead, an option already ruled out by Davies.

Responding to Mr Johnson's comments, a spokesperson for Heathrow said: "Heathrow expansion is not only deliverable, it is vital." It would provide "an opportunity to win the race for jobs and growth by connecting the entire country to the world's fastest-growing destinations while, as the Airports Commission has confirmed, meeting air quality limits and reducing the number of people affected by noise."

However, Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick airport, said: "There is now more stated opposition to Heathrow expansion around the cabinet table than there has ever been. The UK needs something to happen and only choosing Gatwick guarantees that something actually will."

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