TRANSPORT Secretary Stephen Byers' blessing for Terminal 5 on Tuesday imposed conditions to protect Heathrow's neighbours.

Mr Byers told the House of Commons that he agreed with the inspector's report that the terminal would have wider benefits for London and the UK, beyond just the aviation industry.

He said: "London's success as a world city and financial centre would be threatened if Heathrow were not allowed to stay competitive. As well as ensuring Heathrow's success, Terminal 5 would make a major contribution to the national economy."

Despite backing the project, he imposed strict conditions to control the environmental impact it will have on the area. To cut noise he limited total flights per year to 480,000, up from 460,000 last year. He suggested that would see 90 million passengers using Heathrow up from 65 million last year.

He also pledged a two-year consultation over stricter controls on night flights. He committed himself to reducing the number of night flights over west London.

He promoted the use of public transport links rather than road links and said that route changes to Heathrow Express and Piccadilly Tube Line must happen before the first phase of Terminal 5 is completed in 2007. In addition, he allowed only 42,000 car park spaces instead of the 46,000 BAA requested and rejected a proposal to widen the M4 between junctions 3 and 4b.

Mr Byers also said that none of the planning or construction work would go ahead until an approval has been given for a scheme to divert the two rivers that run across the site of Terminal 5.