The Cranford Protocol or Cranford Agreement was an oral undertaking given in 1952 by the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

to the residents of Cranford in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

regarding the usage of the runways at

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...

to reduce the impact of

aircraft noise Aircraft noise pollution refers to noise produced by aircraft in flight that has been associated with several negative stress-mediated health effects, from sleep disorders to cardiovascular disorders. Governments have enacted extensive control ...

on local residents. Under normal operations the agreement prohibited take-off on the northern runway towards the east (over London) because of the proximity of Cranford to the east end of this runway; however this runway could be used in exceptional cases, for example when the southern runway was not available for departures or when departure delays are excessive. Although no formal written agreement exists, the Government acknowledges that an oral undertaking was given by a senior government official at a meeting of the Cranford Residents' and District Amenities Association on 31 July 1952. The protocol is included in the ''Heathrow Manual of Air Traffic Services'' and the airport's noise abatement notification, and thus is a part of the airport's operating rules. On 15 January 2009, the Labour Government announced that it was ending the Cranford Agreement as part of the controversial

expansion of London Heathrow Airport The expansion of Heathrow Airport is a series of proposals to add to the runways at London's busiest airport beyond its two long runways which are intensively used to serve four terminals and a large cargo operation. The plans are those present ...

. Although in May 2010 the

Coalition Government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

cancelled the Heathrow expansion plans, in September 2010 it reaffirmed the decision to end the Cranford Agreement. This decision was welcomed by the

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a unitary authority area with royal borough status in Berkshire, England. The borough is named after its two largest towns of Maidenhead (where the council is based) and Windsor. The borough also i ...

, to the west. To the east, the

London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow ( ) is a London borough in west London, England, forming part of Outer London. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council. The borough stretches from near Central London in the east (Chiswick) to the b ...

called for mitigation or compensation to be offered by BAA to those affected by ending the Cranford Agreement. In May 2013

Heathrow Airport Holdings Heathrow Airport Holdings is a company that operates and manages Heathrow Airport based in London, England. It was formed by the privatisation of the British Airports Authority as BAA plc as part of Margaret Thatcher's privatisation of governmen ...

(who own and operate the airport) submitted planning permission to the

London Borough of Hillingdon The London Borough of Hillingdon () is a London borough in Greater London, England. It forms part of outer London and West London, being the westernmost London borough. It was formed in 1965 from the districts of Hayes and Harlington Urban Distr ...

to build new access

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with Airport apron, aprons, hangars, Airport terminal, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as Asphalt concrete, asphalt or concrete, although sma ...

s, which would allow the implementation of full runway alternation on easterly operations. This permission was rejected in March 2014; Heathrow Airport appealed with a planning enquiry in June 2015. On 2 February 2017 the

Planning Inspectorate The Planning Inspectorate (sometimes referred to as PINS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of the United Kingdom Government with responsibility for making decisions and providing recommendatio ...

recommended that the appeal be allowed and planning permission granted. The decision has not yet been implemented as the airport is considering the Government's airspace management proposals for London and their own plans for expansion.

References

{{reflist Aviation in London Transport in the London Borough of Hillingdon History of Heathrow Airport 1952 in the United Kingdom Noise pollution