Patent approval has been granted for the extended runway option at Heathrow Airport proposed by the Heathrow Hub.

The independent proposal, put forward by former Concorde pilot Jock Lowe, boosted its campaign for urgently needed airport expansion in the south-east as the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), part of the UK Patent Office, granted patent approval on the runway arrangement application.

The proposal, one of the three options shortlisted by the Airports Commission , involves extending the northern runway to 6,800m and dividing it into two with a 650m safe zone.

Mr Lowe, Heathrow Hub director, said: “This is a significant moment: the approval of our runway plan by the Patent Office confirms the viability and commercial application of our design proposal and we are ready to give the country the aviation expansion solution which it requires.

Captain William Jock Lowe, Concordes longest-serving pilot, is leading the Heathrow Hub concept

“Our independent proposal - which from its inception has been designed to be politically and socially acceptable - is still very much in the game, being considered by the Department of Transport alongside Heathrow Airport Ltd’s third runway and a second runway at Gatwick.

“There can be no doubt that expansion at Heathrow is in the best economic interests of the entire country and our extended runway is cheaper, simpler and less disruptive than Heathrow Airport’s own third runway scheme. It also brings no new areas into the noise footprint.”

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The patent was granted on January 26, 2016, and if chosen by the Department for Transport as the winning option for airport expansion in the UK, can be implemented quickly.

Heathrow Hub said it would license or sell the concept to Heathrow to deliver.

It says its scheme will be less costly, requires less homes and businesses to be demolished such as the Home Office’s immigration removal centres and the British Airways headquarters, which would be obliterated in Heathrow Airport’s third runway option.

The extended runway option could be constructed in phases, matching expansion with demand, and ensuring noise and emissions targets are met.

Heathrow Hub also supports eliminating night quota flights before 6am, and believes the greatest benefits would be in delivering expansion at Heathrow as opposed to Gatwick.