A new consultation launched by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) seeks to evaluate the approach to recovering early planning costs associated with Heathrow Airport’s (LHR) proposed expansion.
LHR has requested that the CAA consider allowing early costs associated with the submission of proposals to the Government relating to its expansion to be recovered through Heathrow’s charges to airlines using the airport.
Early costs are suggested to include environmental assessments, legal advice, architectural design, land surveys and public consultations, with The Arora Group requesting that its early costs be treated in the same manner as those of Heathrow Airport Ltd.
The CAA’s consultation focuses on four options for cost recovery, with the addition of safeguards to ensure that only costs efficiently incurred and directly related to expansion planning could be eligible for recovery through LHR’s charges on airlines using the airport.
The regulator has initially stated that permitting promoters with ‘credible and appropriately mature proposals’ to recover their early costs could, in the long run, benefit consumers.
It has also stated that competition between proposals might ‘promote efficiency and ensure a thorough evaluation of options for this major infrastructure project’, as well as reduce risks of passengers facing wasteful or duplicate spending.
The consultation is set to run until 10 September 2025, with a decision expected to be published by the end of September 2025. This initial decision will focus on the principles and approach to the recovery of early planning costs, with further decisions on related issues set to be decided later in 2025.
