Should Heathrow Airport have a third runway?

Should Heathrow Airport have a third runway?
Aim: To determine whether Heathrow’s third runway should be built or not.
Task:
You must decide whether or not a third runway should be built at Heathrow Airport. There are lots of arguments for and against it – you must research these arguments using the websites below. The current government have decided to put plans for the third runway on hold at the moment, but will debate it in the future – have they made the right decision?
From your research you must then write a letter to Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport telling him whether you think he has made the right decision and why. This is not a made up conflict, it has been in the news in recent years and the current government have decided to put the plans on hold for the time being.
You will have to include the following essential elements for the assessment to stand a chance of achieving the highest level:
1. A letter on A4 addressed to the Secretary of State for Transport.
2. Any useful statistics or relevant information about the topic to help with your argument.
3. A map in your letter showing the area affected by the proposed third runway.

What do I do first?
Using the websites provided, you need to find out what the major advantages and disadvantages of the development are. Once you have done this you then need to decide whether the plans should go ahead or not based on the evidence that you have collected.
When you are certain that you have made a decision you need to write a letter to the Secretary of State for Transport. You must use the level descriptions in the table at the back of this pack to ensure that you include everything for each level.

The letter:
Your letter should contain a map of the area that is going to be affected by the development.
Your letter should aim to convince the Secretary of State that your opinion is correct – do you agree with him that it should be stopped, or disagree and think that the third runway should go ahead? The best letters will be the ones which provide the strongest argument and that have considered all the facts.

Your letter should be addressed to:
Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin
Secretary of State for Transport
House of Commons, London
Westminster, SW1A 0AA

Importantly:
There is no right or wrong answer to this. It is your opinion that is important and your ability to argue your point of view. To be successful you must use the websites suggested and look carefully at the Level Descriptions provided.

Higher level:
There are a number of alternatives to building the third runway at Heathrow. To get top marks investigate these further and include whether or not they are good alternatives in your project. One alternative scheme is the Thames Estuary airport but there are many others.