Heathrow Expansion Consultation Autumn 2026

Heathrow Airport is currently conducting a Public Consultation that is an opportunity for the local community surrounding Heathrow to provide an opportunity to give feedback on the plans for Heathrow expansion.  The consultation ends on the 22nd December 2026. This builds on previous consultations and the plans have been amended since previous consultation in 2019.  Heathrow are proposing to submit a Development Consent Order (DCO) application in 2027.  Full details and materials on the consultation can be found at this link.  The summary consultation document can be accessed directly at the foot of this post. 

Purpose of Consultation

Heathrow state that:

‘Hearing from people is an important part of developing major infrastructure projects like Heathrow expansion. We believe it is important that communities and stakeholders have the opportunity to share their views while proposals are still being developed. The feedback helps us refine our proposals before we submit our DCO application.

The current 2026 Public Consultation builds on our earlier work, where key decisions about our expansion plans, such as the runway’s location and length, were carefully considered by the Government and through previous consultations, therefore we are not consulting on these aspects. This consultation is also not about whether expansion is needed or where it should take place.

Guildford Impact

Any expansion of Heathrow brings opportunities to the borough in that organisations may want to locate close to the airport and it provides employment options.   These opportunities need to be balanced against issues with noise, pollution, transport congestion etc. A critical issue will be providing adequate surface transport links.  See Post about Heathrow Southern Rail Link below.

Alternatives to Expansion.

Heathrow continue to argue that a third runway is needed to preserve the airport as a Hub Airport with a high proportion of air travellers changing planes.   London does have a large airport capacity if you add up Heathrow, Stanstead, Gatwick, Luton, London City, Southend.  This is set to grow with Gatwick gaining an extra runway, and Birmingham via HS/2 being only 60 mins travel from central London.