Wandsworth and six other councils have told the Transport Secretary a third runway fails the Government's own tests. The consultation closes 11.59pm Tuesday.

Wandsworth residents have until 11.59pm on Tuesday 1 September to tell the Government what they think of a third runway at Heathrow. That is the closing time set by the Department for Transport for its consultation on the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement.

Two days before the deadline, the Leader of Wandsworth Council put the borough’s objection in writing. Councillor Robert Morritt signed a joint letter to the Transport Secretary alongside the leaders of six other councils. The council published the letter in full on Friday 28 August.

The seven councils say they are not opposed to Heathrow itself. They say they do not accept that a third runway is necessary or acceptable on the evidence available.

What the seven leaders told the Secretary of State

The letter went to the Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP, Secretary of State for Transport. It is signed by the leaders of Wandsworth, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Hillingdon, Kingston upon Thames and Windsor and Maidenhead. Together, the letter says, those councils represent around 1,724,464 people.

Their central charge is that the draft policy is not a neutral framework. They argue it begins from the assumption that expansion should proceed rather than testing whether it should. They single out the proposal to label Heathrow expansion “Critical National Growth Infrastructure”, which they say “risks prejudging any future Development Consent Order application”.

On the substance, the letter argues that expansion would:

  • expose more residents to aircraft noise than a two-runway operation
  • worsen pressure on air quality in areas already dealing with congestion
  • add significant carbon emissions and lock in new demand for decades
  • require major and costly surface access work that is not yet funded or agreed
  • place communities across west, south-west and inner London under new or intensified flight paths

The leaders also reject the idea that averages measure the problem. “Aircraft noise should be judged by the lived experience of communities, not simply by airport-wide averages,” the letter says. On night flights, it says a 6.5-hour restriction that “broadly mirrors existing arrangements should not be presented as a significant new safeguard”.

On the economic case, the letter points at the Government’s own appraisal. It says that evidence suggests “only a marginal GDP uplift of around 0.05 per cent by 2056”, set against substantial social and environmental costs.

What the consultation is actually about

The consultation does not approve anything. The Transport Secretary’s foreword is explicit that the draft statement “does not grant development consent” and “does not approve any specific scheme”. Any future application would still go through the development consent order process and an examination by the Planning Inspectorate.

What it does is set the planning rulebook that a future application would be judged against. The 2018 Airports National Policy Statement is being amended and renamed the Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement. The review was launched on 22 October 2025 and the consultation opened on 18 June 2026.

The draft reflects four Government tests: economic growth, climate change, air quality and noise. The proposed noise limits stay as they are, at 51 decibels for daytime noise and 45 decibels at night. The requirement for a noise envelope, a runway alternation scheme and a ban on scheduled night flights is unchanged, though the Government is asking how a scheduled night flight should be defined.

Timeline: 22 October 2025, review of the 2018 policy launched; 18 June 2026, consultation opens; 22 July 2026, Wandsworth asks residents to respond; 28 August 2026, seven council leaders write to the Transport Secretary; 1 September 2026 at 11.59pm, consultation closes; then a Select Committee report and a Commons vote.
The dates that matter, and what happens after Tuesday. Sources: Department for Transport consultation document; Wandsworth Council news releases of 22 July and 28 August 2026.

Why Wandsworth is in this at all

Heathrow sits in Hillingdon, about 11 miles west of Wandsworth town centre in a straight line. The borough is not next to the airport. It is under the approach.

Wandsworth Council put a number on what expansion would mean when it urged residents to respond in July. It said the preferred scheme would add 260,000 flights a year at Heathrow, an increase of more than 50 per cent. Flight routes have not been confirmed. The council said it is likely the borough would see significantly more aircraft overhead, and that existing respite periods, when there are no flights over a given area, would be reduced.

Cllr Morritt said the council remains firmly opposed. “Our borough already experiences the impact of aircraft noise which interferes with everyday life for those living, working or studying here,” he said. “Residents rightly expect quieter skies and cleaner air.”

The council describes itself as having a long-standing record of opposing Heathrow expansion. It is a core member of the No 3rd Runway Coalition, alongside neighbouring boroughs and community organisations.

What it means for you

You have two days. The Government will only accept responses received before 11.59pm on Tuesday 1 September, and Monday is the late summer bank holiday, so the online form is the reliable route.

There are three ways to respond:

  • the online response form, which lets you save and come back to it
  • email to henpsconsultation@dft.gov.uk, with an acknowledgement sent back to you
  • post to the Airports National Policy Statement Review Team, Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 4DR

One thing is worth knowing before you write. The consultation document states plainly that the Government “will give greater weight to responses that are based on argument and evidence, rather than simple expressions of support or opposition”. It also asks respondents to point at the specific sections of the draft they are commenting on. A short paragraph about aircraft over your street at 5am, with dates, will count for more than a tick in a box.

The consultation asks, among other things:

  • whether you agree with how the Government has set each of its four tests on air quality, noise, climate change and economic growth
  • whether the proposed mitigation is deliverable, effective and proportionate
  • whether the night flight ban should be measured from take-off and landing, rather than from leaving and arriving at the terminal
  • whether the Critical National Growth Infrastructure label is right
  • whether compensation for affected residents is fair
  • whether you agree with the surface access requirements, including passenger mode share targets

Printed copies of the consultation documents were made available at Putney Library, Balham Library and Wandsworth Town Hall. Check opening hours before travelling over the bank holiday weekend.

After Tuesday, the Government considers the responses. A Parliamentary select committee will gather evidence and report, the Government will reply, and a final version would be laid before Parliament and voted on in the House of Commons before it has legal effect.

Planning decisions closer to home are on our Wandsworth planning page. The council’s own finances are set out in our report on the Spending Review and council tax.

Sources