The draft Airports NPS and supporting Appraisal of Sustainability were published on 2 February 2017 and a 16 week public consultation was launched. On publishing the draft Airports NPS, the Government made a commitment to continue updating its evidence base on airport capacity, including revised passenger demand forecasts and the impact of the publication of the final Air Quality Plan (the UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations). In order to provide clarity, the Government has now revised the draft Airports NPS and some of the other documents which were published alongside it, on the basis of these changes to the evidence base and as a result of initial consideration of the responses to the February consultation and other broader government policy changes which have arisen during this period.
The Airports NPS provides the primary basis for decision making on development consent applications for a Northwest Runway at Heathrow Airport, and will be an important and relevant consideration in respect of applications for new runway capacity and other airport infrastructure in London and the South East of England. Other NPSs may also be relevant to decisions on airport capacity in this geographical area.
Author: Department for Transport
Date: October 2017 Date of publication
This item updates DCP section 26.431
