Don't know whether this has been picked up on here yet, but Heathrow have revealed several "artist's impressions" (I hate that phrase) of the new runway, terminal and infrastructure improvements.
Heathrow releases new third runway images - Your Heathrow
I can't help but be impressed with this. Obviously its a long way down the road - it would turn the airport into the best airport in the world.
I note that Runway 3 will be 3200m in length which is an increase on the circa 2000m runway that was originally planned. I agree this is a better way forward; if you're going to build a runway, the last ever in the eyes of the commission, you've got to do it properly. All aircraft will be able to operate from it which wasn't originally the case.