Our scheme
Video of privately financed M25 realignment
Several key details of our scheme are outlined below, providing further information building on our proposal here (PDF).
Heathrow remains committed to engaging openly and constructively and will continue to update our stakeholders once we have the green light from Government.
Following previous consultation with National Highways, we have designed a plan to build an ‘offline’ section of the M25, 130 metres to the west of the existing motorway.
Traffic will then be switched over from the old route to the new with a series of carefully planned overnight closures. By constructing the new section offline, impact on road users and local community is minimised.
The result is a wider and safer stretch of the motorway at one of the busiest junctions on the M25, 100% privately financed.
Expanding:
A 3,500-metre third runway located north-west of the airport and associated taxiways, designed to accommodate aircraft of all sizes and deliver up to 276,000 additional flights a year.
A new terminal complex to the west of Terminal 5, “T5X”, to support excellent passenger experience.
New and upgraded supporting infrastructure including expanded cargo facilities, reconfigured surface access including realignment of the M25 motorway below the new runway, and parking facilities.
Modernising:
As part of our long-term masterplan to modernise Heathrow we will also redevelop the Central Terminal Area including an expanded public transport interchange and close Heathrow’s oldest terminal, T3.
And we will upgrade existing terminals to deliver consistent service throughout Heathrow and add further capacity, including by extending Terminal 2.
This means that Heathrow must apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO), as the project is too large to be considered through the usual planning process of submission to the local council(s).
Heathrow’s DCO application will be examined by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS), a team within Government and ultimately decided by the Secretary of State for Transport following a statutory process set out within the Planning Act 2008.
In order to meet Government’s target of achieving planning consent within this Parliament, Heathrow must resume our existing engagement with PINS that was paused in 2020 as early as possible. This is a part of the statutory process that we are required to undertake. While Heathrow's previous plans for a new northwest runway will form the basis of any DCO application, details are still under review.
No decision will be made on taking forward our expanding Heathrow proposals until we receive feedback from Government following our summer submission. The engagement with PINS is a part of the statutory process but does not commit Heathrow to take forward expansion proposals to application.
Heathrow is committed to working with our local community to provide certainty and ensure they benefit from an expanded Heathrow. Find out more about our work with the local community.
2025 |
October | Government launches Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) review and commits to confirming a single scheme to deliver expansion in November 2025. |
|---|---|---|
| July | Heathrow submits its proposals for expanding the airport | |
| March | Consenting activity resumes | |
| 2020 - 2024 | PROJECT PAUSED: No consenting activity | |
| 2019 | June to September | Airport Expansion Statutory Consultation |
| January to March | Airspace and Future Operations Consultation | |
| 2018 | June | Airports National Policy Statement designated |
| January to March | Airport Expansion Consultation One and Airspace Principles Consultation | |
| 2015 | July | Airports Commission recommends north-west runway at Heathrow |
| 2012 | September | Airports Commission established |
In 2019, Heathrow held a public consultation on expansion plans, the consultation documents can be found below. Feedback from the consultation is helping to define the masterplan. We remain in the pre application phase of a DCO, the same position as 2020. Heathrow has submitted a Programme Document to PINS setting out the proposed approach to pre-application phase.
Heathrow submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Addendum Report to the Planning Inspectorate. This is an update from the original EIA scoping document that was submitted in May 2018, outlining the environmental effects of expanding Heathrow and proposed an approach to manage them, including on air quality, noise, biodiversity, community and carbon. Guidance and information relating to EIA scoping can be found here.
