The government has given the go-ahead to build a new runway at Heathrow Airport, despite concerns about air pollution, noise and the destruction of homes in densely-populated west London. The decision is only the first step, though. A decision on the exact location of the new runway will be the subject of consultation. Parliament will vote in about a year, meaning the runway will open by 2025 at the earliest.

Zac Goldsmith deserves respect for quitting over Heathrow but the government is right to push ahead

Heathrow expansion villages under threat
A passenger aircraft passes over a residential house as it prepares to land at Heathrow Airport in west London Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP

If the proposed Heathrow expansion goes ahead, historic villages will be wiped off the map, or cut in half. Around 750 homes – some dating back to the 17th century – would be bulldozed, and surviving residential areas will have to cope with increased noise, pollution and traffic.

The proposed perimeter fence of the expanded airport would cut through the heart of the picturesque village of Harmondsworth, leaving the remaining centuries-old cottages effectively positioned inside an airport.

Heathrow expansion villages under threat
The interior of the Grade I listed medieval Harmondsworth Great Barn Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
The exterior of the medieval Harmondsworth Great Barn, which is Grade I listed Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
Stop Heathrow Expansion signs hang outside St Mary's Church in Harmondsworth, which dates back to 1067 Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
Sun House in Harmondsworth, probably dating from the 16th century Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
Harmondsworth resident Malcolm Carey, 82, is pictured outside the home he has lived in since 1970 Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
Harmondsworth resident Bob Miltenburgh, 87, is pictured outside the home he has lived in since 1970 Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
Harmondsworth Hall, a Grade II listed building Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
A 'No Third Runway' sign, featuring pictures of local points of interest, hangs on a lamp post in Harmondsworth Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
An anti-Heathrow sticker is seen at the Five Bells pub in Harmondsworth Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
A plane comes in to land at Heathrow Airport near Harmondsworth Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
A plane can be seen taking off from Heathrow Airport behind the village of Harmondsworth Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

In the village of Sipson, environmental campaigners have built a self-sufficient squat camp called Grow Heathrow on land designated for the third runway. The land occupied by Grow Heathrow was once a derelict dumping ground before the squatters arrived in February 2010.

Heathrow expansion villages under threat
The entrance to the Grow Heathrow protest camp in Sipson Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Grow Heathrow
A communal area inside the Grow Heathrow protest camp Leon Neal/AFP
Grow Heathrow
Residents chat in the camp Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Grow Heathrow
An activist and a child walk through the Grow Heathrow protest camp Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Grow Heathrow
Activists arrive at the Grow Heathrow protest camp Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Grow Heathrow
An activist looks at the greenhosues at the Grow Heathrow protest camp Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Grow Heathrow
Tree-top structures are seen within the Grow Heathrow protest camp Leon Neal/AFP
Grow Heathrow
The entrance gate to the Grow Heathrow protest camp Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
A banner, which reads 'BAA Want Homes For Profit', hangs on a fence in Sipson Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
A cyclist passes Sipson Christian Fellowship Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Heathrow expansion villages under threat
People walk past a mural painted by activists in opposition to proposed Heathrow Airport expansion, in Sipson Jack Taylor/Getty Images

How close homes are to the expanded airport determines how much compensation homeowners will be offered. The owners of the 750 homes that would have to be bulldozed are covered by a compulsory purchase scheme, which means they will be offered 25% more than the market value value of their properties, plus legal fees and stamp duty costs. Nearly 4,000 homeowners in nearby villages will be offered the choice of staying in their homes – next to the new runway – or selling at 25% above market value after the new runway has been built.

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