Heathrow Terminal 5: gaining permission

When Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport opened on 27 March 2008, it was almost 23 years since the publication of the 1985 Airports Policy White Paper that had encouraged its development. This paper explains the challenges inherent in trying to deliver a major infrastructure project through the UK planning system, and describes how the absence of clear and updated government policy contributed to the record 525 days spent at the planning enquiry before consent for the £4·3 billion airport expansion could be granted. It also recognises that the project involved issues of national importance that affected many thousands of people, particularly those living under the flight paths.