Plans for a second runway at Stansted will come under a two-pronged attack in the High Court.
Opponents of proposals for aviation expansion in the UK - which include a second runway at Stansted - have been given permission for a full judicial review of the Government's White Paper.
But Stansted operator BAA has insisted it will continue developing plans for a second runway, expressing confidence that both challenges to Government policy will fail.
The High Court will hear two parallel challenges. One has been mounted by the Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) group, in conjunction with its counterparts from Luton and Heathrow, and the London boroughs of Hillingdon and Wandsworth.
The second has been brought by the county councils of Essex and Hertfordshire, together with the district councils of Uttlesford, North Hertfordshire and East Hertfordshire.
No date has yet been set for the court hearings.
Both actions claim the White Paper was fundamentally flawed, and that the conclusions it reached were 'irrational and inconsistent with the Government's own policies and with the consultation's ground rules'.
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said the Government stood by its White Paper, and would meet the legal challenge 'head-on' in court.
Published Thursday June 17, 2004
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