An official impact assessment commissioned by the Department for Transport has concluded that the proposed third runway at Heathrow would generate significant adverse effects on the health outcomes of approximately 3 million residents in surrounding communities. The analysis, prepared by Aecom, identifies major adverse consequences for public health under current expansion proposals, with particular concerns regarding noise pollution, air quality degradation, and reduced access to essential services and recreational spaces.
While acknowledging potential economic gains through employment creation and skills development, the report emphasises that environmental and social detrimental effects cannot be adequately mitigated. Water quality deterioration, weakened community cohesion, landscape degradation, and compromised climate change adaptation capacity represent additional concerns. The government maintains it is actively developing mitigation strategies, though officials concede certain impacts are inherent to the project and cannot be entirely eliminated.