Heathrow Airport expansion delayed29 July 2008
The Government's decision on the expansion of Heathrow Airport has been put on hold until the end of the year.
This comes after Friends of the Earth mounted a legal challenge on behalf Hounslow Race Equality Council.
We argued that the Government failed to consider the disproportionate impact that expansion would have on local ethnic minority communities.
A change of heart
They have now answered our call for a full investigation - which has pushed back the final decision on the expansion.
We want to be sure, given the socio-demographic mix in the Heathrow area, that we fully understand how airport development might affect different groups in terms of race, disability, age or gender.
Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Transport (8 July 2008)
Their change in position comes as great news - they previously denied that their proposals might unfairly affect the large ethnic minority population.
© Nick Cobbing/Friends of the Earth
