Last week I had the privilege of hosting both the UK Government’s Aviation Minister, Keir Mather MP and local communities in two sessions of community engagement. The two sessions were designed as an opportunity for the Minister to listen directly to communities and understand some of the issues that matter most to them as the Government considers the future policy framework for Heathrow expansion.

I am delighted to have recently joined the Heathrow Expansion Independent Community Engagement Board (HEICEB) as Director. Having spent much of my career working alongside communities to help them influence decisions that affect their lives, I am excited to be bringing that experience to one of the UK's most significant infrastructure projects.

Today’s submission to HM Government by both Heathrow Airport Ltd and Arora Group of their respective proposals for a third runway at Heathrow ends a long period of uncertainty since the halting of the previous expansion process.

These applications, and any others, of course, generate new uncertainty but that is in the context of an established process where there are multiple opportunities for communities and stakeholders to make their opinions known.

Throughout this period CISHA will ensure that community voices are heard through its expansion process focused body the Heathrow Community Engagement Board (HCEB). To that end we have 5 broad areas of delivery.