Campaigners furious that the Government has given the go-ahead to a fifth terminal at Heathrow Airport have told the News they may appeal against the decision.

Transport Secretary Stephen Byers finally approved the £2.5 billion scheme on Tuesday eight years after airport operator BAA applied for another terminal to cater for an extra 30 million passengers a year.

But the decision has been condemned by anti-noise groups, Wandsworth MPs and council officials, who have fought a prolonged battle to abort the proposals.

They claim it will cause further misery to thousands of residents in Putney, Battersea and Wandsworth who live under the flight path.

John Stewart, chairman of the pressure group HACAN ClearSkies, told the News it will now decide whether to challenge the decision in court.

"We are bitterly disappointed. Unfortunately people living under the flight path will have to live with increasing noise.

"However, we welcome the capping of the total number of flights as this will rule out the possibility of a third runway. This should mean this is the last big development at Heathrow."

The prospect of a legal challenge is also being considered by council officials who maintain the terminal will blight the lives' of one million people in London and the south east.

Council leader Councillor Edward Lister said there was no need for more flights over this most densely populated part of the country.

"We want to see at the very least three cast iron guarantees an early end to all night flights, no third runway, and no parallel operations for the north and south runways.

"There are more ways of tackling demand for air travel than simply acceding to industry pressure for concentrating all expansion at Heathrow."

Putney MP Tony Colman and Battersea MP Martin Linton have also condemned the decision.

Mr Colman said: "The decision to go ahead with T5 is deeply regrettable quality of life issues have been ignored for too long."

The fifth terminal, due for completion in 2007, will increase Heathrow's capacity to around 90 million passengers a year.

Roy Vandermeer QC, inspector of the four-year planning inquiry, said there must be strict controls to prevent unacceptable noise and pollution and a long-term objective of ending night flights. He also recommended that a third runway should not be built.

Outlining his conditions, Mr Byers said the number of flights at Heathrow would be limited to 480,000 a year, only 20,000 more than last year.

November 23, 2001 10:30