Heathrow Strategic Planning Group

Working together to drive sustainable growth for the sub-region

Our Purpose

Heathrow Strategic Planning Group (HSPG) is a partnership of local authorities surrounding Heathrow Airport. HSPG members want to ensure that if the airport is expanded, it is planned well and sustainable, impacts are mitigated, and benefits are maximised. Our vision is to develop a functional and sustainable economic area across Local Authorities around Heathrow Airport.

We work constructively with, but independently of, Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL), as well as with local and national stakeholders including the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Department for Transport.

We advise and have expertise across land use planning, transport, environmental impact, economic development, airspace management, and sustainable development.

About us

Our work promotes the airport’s role in creating local jobs and skills, while advocating better airspace use to reduce noise impacts.

We also call for improved sustainable transport links to the airport and the surrounding areas to reduce congestion and tackle poor air quality.

Focus is currently on Heathrow’s DCO process and accompanying procedures.

Our Structure

Executive Partnership Board

The Partnership Board is the main forum for Council Leaders (or nominees) and leaders of member organisations. It provides regular updates from Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) on strategic issues, typically delivered by a senior HAL representative. Where needed, the Board sets HSPG’s strategic direction and makes collective decisions, supported by the HSPG Core Team.

Chief Executive Steering Board

A representative group of Chief Executives from across the membership meets quarterly for the Chief Executive Steering Board to provide strategic direction for the partnership and guide the progress of key projects and initiatives.

Technical Sub-groups

Our four specialist sub-groups meet from regularly (typically bi-monthly) to review a wide range of technical matters relevant for members. The four groups are:

Transport
Spatial Planning
Environment & Airspace
Economic Development

These are attended by specialist lead technical officers.

Funding

HSPG is funded by member contributions, with additional support from Heathrow Airport to help streamline engagement with member authorities. It has also secured Government funding for specific projects and activities.

Secretariat Portraits

Mark Frost

Mark is Chartered Transport Planning Professional with extensive experience in local government leadership, strategic transport planning and partnership development. He has led the HSPG Secretariat since 2021.

Previous roles include Assistant Director at the London Borough of Hounslow with responsibility for Heathrow-related policy and partnerships, Mark also serves as an expert advisor to the Heathrow Area Transport Forum, the statutory scrutiny body for the Airport’s surface access strategy.

Adrian Colwell

Adrian is a member of Institute of Leadership, former Board Member of Institute for Economic Development. Over 30 years planning and regional policy experience on strategic planning. Joined HSPG in 2024, having previously led on Heathrow issues for South Bucks Council. Led on EIA scoping review, landscape, construction and heritage.

Previous roles include former Special Adviser in Government, former Director of Planning across two Councils, with expertise in spatial planning, Local Plan development, the relationship between NSIPs and planning system and the growth relationship to Local Government Reform.

Kevin Lloyd

Kevin has a background in strategy and policy development at national, regional, and local level and extensive experience of associated processes including legislation, regulation, partnerships, analysis, and decision making. He has been a member of HSPG Secretariat since 2021 with a particular focus on economic development and economic regulation of the airport.
Previous roles include being a senior civil servant in central government (mainly in policy areas now within MHCLG) and a local government chief officer; spells working in London Councils (the representative body for London boroughs) and for other bodies at sub-regional level including one of the former local enterprise partnerships.

Michael Thornton

Michael is a Chartered Town Planner with extensive experience across all local authority town planning activities in London, the SE and E of England. He had a key role in establishing HSPG in 2015 in response to the report of the Davies Commission and Government support for the NW Runway. He advises on Airspace and Environment Group topics, including airspace operations, human and environmental impact.

He led policy development and plan making under a range of regulatory regimes at strategic, local, site master planning and neighbour levels. Extensive experience with variety of transport projects including strategic rail freight interchange, new rail lines, light rail extensions, strategic roads and helipad proposals through TCPA and Acts of Parliament, and proposals impacting existing aerodrome operations.

Steve Braund

Steve is a Consultant Environmental Health Officer (REnvH) with extensive experience in EIA, specialising in construction and operational noise for major infrastructure projects. His expertise includes noise and vibration, air quality, planning and consenting matters, stakeholder engagement, and negotiating robust environmental solutions for complex developments
Previous roles included technical lead for noise and environmental assessments on NSIPs including HS2 and the London Luton Airport DCO.

Amy Harrower

Amy is a Full Member of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals and a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv). She has extensive experience in EIA and the DCO process across a number of sectors including airports, renewables and road projects. This includes projects from scoping stage through pre-application, submission, Examination and decision stages.

Previous roles include onshore consents manager for an offshore wind farm DCO (Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind Farm), post consent discharge of DCO Requirements for NSIPs within West Sussex County Council and most recently supporting a group of local authorities through the Gatwick Northern Runway Project DCO, from scoping through to DCO decision.

Our Work

We have several specialist working groups across a number of themes. These are:

Surface Access;
Environment & Airspace;
Energy & Climate; and
Spatial Planning Group.

These forums allow for efficient information sharing and the ability to inform members on key DCO and wider policy issues. Each working group also includes an “executive” of key officers who meet to ensure that the agenda is developed to be as useful as possible for members.

HSPG’s work focuses on two areas: responding to potential Heathrow expansion through the DCO process, and wider policy issues, including the airport’s business-as-usual operations.

The partnership’s strategic aims and objectives are set out in our Outcomes Framework, which sets out a shared vision for sustainable growth across the Heathrow area. It also outlines HSPG members’ expectations for the design of any airport expansion and the mitigation likely to be required for it to be acceptable in planning terms. The latest Framework was consulted on through all officer working groups in 2025 and is now pending final endorsement by elected leaders and portfolio holders.

The HSPG Vision and Principles were developed by HSPG members with Heathrow Airport Limited in 2015, following the Airports Commission’s support for a north-west runway at Heathrow. It sets out key objectives for future airport expansion ahead of a DCO scheme. While it relates to the previous DCO scheme, many of its key principles remain relevant and are supported by HSPG members.

In 2020, HSPG produced an Economic Development Vision and Action Plan (EDVAP), an action-focused plan to maximise economic productivity, skills, jobs and business development across the HSPG area, considering both current Heathrow activity and potential expansion. The EDVAP should be read alongside the action plan and evidence base. This substantial collaborative work is intended to be renewed and updated, resources permitting, in light of a new DCO coming forward.

In 2020, HSPG produced a Joint Spatial Planning Framework (JSPF) to support sustainable development across the sub-region, addressing both baseline growth and the additional growth expected from Heathrow expansion over the next 30 years.

Development Consent Order Process- proposals for Expansion at Heathrow Airport

The Government backed Heathrow expansion in January 2025. Heathrow Airport Ltd (HAL) submitted its proposals in July 2025, which were selected in November 2025 as the preferred basis for reviewing the Airports National Policy Statement, while the rival Heathrow West scheme also continues to pursue a DCO. The Government aims to secure planning permission by 2029, with the runway operational within the following decade.

HSPG has focused on proactively shaping HAL’s DCO proposals, providing member councils with a coordinated platform to scrutinise and influence expansion plans, while advocating for high-quality design and comprehensive mitigation and compensation.

Below is a list of several key documents HSPG have submitted into the DCO process recently:

HSPG response – EIA scoping report (30 Sept 2025)

Wider Policy Work

Outside the DCO process, HSPG has focused on actively responding to a wide range of policy consultations and business as usual operational activities with HAL. Below is a list of several key documents HSPG have submitted in response to relevant consultations.

Airport National Policy Statement

ANPS ED Briefing (April 2026)

ANPS Review (December 2025)

Heathrow Airport Limited

HSPG Response to Heathrow Capacity Expansion – Consultation on Regulatory Models (CAP 3251) (June 2026)

Civil Aviation Authority

HSPG – CAA H8 Initial Proposals Consultation Response (May 2026)

Response to Working Paper on Future Regulatory Models (Jan 2026)

Response to reform of CAP1616 (January 2026)

HSPG response to CAA consultation on Heathrow Expansion (Sep 2025)

HSPG response to Terminal Drop Off Consultation (Jan 2025)

HSPG response to CAA CAP 3044 H8 Principles (Jan 2025)