The proposed expansion of London’s Heathrow airport by way of a third runway is one-part infrastructure, two-part national soap opera. Legal controversy has been present from the first. The Heathrow site, previously orchard land, was acquired using emergency wartime powers in 1946, prompting decadal litigation.1¹ Plans for a third runway have a similar saga-like quality. Policy papers came and went, with the issue finally handed by Prime Minister David Cameron to a newly established Airports Commission in 2012.2² Guided by both the safe hands of Howard Davies (McKinsey, Bank of England, LSE, Man Booker Prize and so on), the Commission issued interim and final reports in 2013 and 2015, respectively, both recommending the north-west third runway option at Heathrow.3³ After a parliamentary vote in 2018,4⁴ it became the policy of the planning authority; that is, the Secretary of State for Transport, to approve the expansion, a decision which became the basis of the instant challenge.

中文翻译：

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英国最高法院的气候宪政

通过第三条跑道扩建伦敦希思罗机场的提议是一个由基础设施组成的部分，由两部分组成的国家肥皂剧。从一开始就存在法律争议。希思罗机场原为果园地，于 1946 年使用紧急战时权力获得，引发了数十年的诉讼^{。1 1}第三条跑道的计划具有类似传奇般的质量。政策文件来来去去，问题最终由首相戴维·卡梅伦于 2012 年交给新成立的机场委员会^{。2 2}在霍华德·戴维斯（麦肯锡、英格兰银行、伦敦证券交易所、曼布克奖等）的安全指导下，委员会分别于 2013 年和 2015 年发布了中期报告和最终报告，均建议在希思罗机场采用西北第三跑道方案^{。3 3}在 2018 年议会投票后，^{4 4}它成为规划当局的政策；也就是说，交通大臣批准扩建，这一决定成为即时挑战的基础。