Proposals for a third runway at Heathrow have been published for public consultation by the government as it declared that expanding the airport would show the world Britain was open for business after Brexit.

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The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, told the Commons the launch of the four-month consultation demonstrated that the government was delivering the major infrastructure the country would need for “new global connections”.

The conditions for planning consent are being outlined in a draft national policy statement, the first step in enacting the decision the government made in the autumn. MPs will have to vote on the statement for it to become law.

But opponents warned that there was no still clear plan to meet environmental obligations, with CO2 and air-quality limits breached before expansion.

Grayling said: “Aviation expansion is important for the UK both in boosting our economy and jobs and promoting us on the world stage. Leaving the EU is a new chapter for Britain and provides us with a great opportunity to forge a new role in the world.

“We are determined to seize that opportunity and if we have the right infrastructure in place it will allow us to build a more global Britain. By backing the north-west runway at Heathrow airport and publishing our proposals, we are sending a clear signal that when we leave the EU, we are open for business.”

He said while the expected £17.6bn bill would be met by the private sector, Heathrow should take every step to drive down costs. Airlines have warned that the costs could mean higher fares.

The government opted to expand Heathrow rather than Gatwick, more than a year after the Airports Commission endorsed the third runway proposal and six years after the coalition government scrapped the idea.

Grayling said: “Doing nothing is a choice we can no longer afford to make.”

Labour’s transport spokesman, Andy McDonald, said progress was “welcome after years of dither and delay”.

He said the runway could be delivered but there were outstanding questions over meeting environmental and noise targets, and the government should draw up a coherent, national aviation strategy.

The statement commits Heathrow to meeting pledges and conditions for expansion including six more domestic routes, noise mitigation for local homes and schools, legally binding targets on noise, and a ban of six and a half hours on scheduled night flights.

The airport must also implement measures to ensure road traffic does not increase, and will be obliged to compensate homeowners at a rate of 25% above market value, plus costs for any compulsory purchases needed. About 900 homes are expected to be demolished, including much of the village of Harmondsworth.

The consultation will run across the UK, including communities that may be directly affected and people who could benefit from the connections. After the consultation and parliamentary scrutiny, the finalised statement is expected to go to a vote in about a year’s time.

Heathrow’s executive director for expansion, Emma Gilthorpe, said: “The launch of the government’s national policy statement consultation is an important milestone in the delivery of Heathrow’s expansion plans.

“We look forward to working with the government, our local communities and our airlines throughout this consultation period to ensure Heathrow expansion is affordable and benefits all of Britain.”

Unions also welcomed the move. The TUC said it was a “heartening” step forward on vital infrastructure.

The Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, said: “This excellent news will cement Heathrow’s reputation as a leading global airport. It is a tribute to all who work at Heathrow, including the many thousands of Unite members, that it will continue to develop, and in view of the UK’s need to recast its relationships with the world following Brexit, this is a much-need investment for the national economy.”

However, John Stewart, chair of the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise, a local anti-expansion campaign, said: “The government will argue that a new runway is particularly important in a post-Brexit world but the stark fact remains that a third runway will mean almost a quarter of a million extra planes using Heathrow each year. That will turn countless lives upside down.

“The government must be even-handed in assessing the consultation and reject a third runway if, as we believe, its downsides are simply too high.”

The government said the runway, which it claimed would be worth £61bn to the economy over 60 years and would create tens of thousands of jobs, would go ahead only if it could be delivered within existing air-quality limits and climate change obligations.

Cait Hewitt, deputy director of environmental group AEF, said: “The fundamental question about whether this endless growth in the number of aircraft flying in and out of the UK can in reality be delivered without compromising climate change targets (which are being quietly ignored) or sacrificing public health and wellbeing – that question is still not being answered.”

She said the Brexit argument was “spurious”, adding: “If people were desperate to fly here to do business and couldn’t get in to Heathrow then any of the other London airports with spare capacity would surely be delighted to lay on those flights.”

Grayling said the expansion would proceed only if it met legal environmental targets. Lawyers at Client Earth, which has taken the government to court over the targets, said they would be examining the detail.

But ClientEarth’s chief executive, James Thornton, said: “It seems they are still clinging to the idea that Heathrow can meet air-quality standards in an area already blighted by illegal air pollution. This would be a huge undertaking and require some bold measures, which we look forward to examining.”

A separate consultation on changes to airspace, potentially bringing new communities under flight paths, is also being launched.