Southampton Airport runway extension signed off after 'ministry silence'

The airport said the runway extension would bring in larger planes and open up new routes

An agreement to extend an airport runway has been formally signed after a council said the government did not intervene.

Eastleigh Borough Council has issued planning permission for Southampton Airport to extend its runway by 164m (538ft) to allow longer-haul flights.

It said the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government did not meet a council deadline to step in.

The ministry confirmed it could no longer call in the council decision.

The campaign group Airport Expansion Opposition asked the government to intervene

The airport previously said the extension would facilitate larger planes, generating an extra £240m for the local economy by the year 2037.

Campaign group Airport Expansion Opposition (AXO) said a longer runway would cause "economic harm" to homeowners affected by noise.

The controversial extension was approved by councillors following a 19-hour debate in April.

AXO subsequently asked the ministry to review the council approval, arguing that rising emissions from flights would contravene the Climate Change Act.

Airport operations director Steve Szalay previously said the runway would "drive economic recovery"

Eastleigh Borough Council said the ministry responded in April by asking the council to delay signing a formal agreement with the airport.

However the authority said no further communication had been received.

In a statement it said: "The council... advised PCU [Planning Casework Unit] officers mid-May that the Council intend to issue the decision by the end of May.

"The council... had not received further correspondence from officers within the PCU by the end of May and has now issued the decision notice to grant planning permission."

The authority said it had signed a Section 106 agreement with the airport that included a cap of three million passenger per year, enhanced controls on noise and vehicles and the establishment of a "Community Health Fund".

Welcoming the agreement, the airport said it was keen to start work as soon as possible to "safeguard the jobs of our airport colleagues".

In a statement the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "The council has now issued the decision on the Southampton Airport planning application.

"This means that the Secretary of State does not have the option to consider calling it in."