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For information on the 'White Paper' which followed this consultation, go to our
"Runway 3 threat posponed .." page.
Government Airports Consultation
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Aviation |
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Coming your way ? |
In July 2002 the government published a series of consultation documents, "The Future Development of Air Transport in the UK". There are separate consultation documents for each region, together with summary documents and an extensive set of supporting studies. The documents may be found on the Department for Transport web site [www.airconsult.gov.uk]
Responses were oringinally needed by end Nov 2002, but there is now an extension. This is due to a legal challenge about the exclusion of Gatwick as an option for expansion. Revised consultation documments have been issued and the date for submissions is 30 June 2003.
These documents contain a number of options or 'packages' for expansion of existing airports and for brand new airports. The suggested expansion plans would have major consequences for local residents and their environment, so it is important that as many people and organisations as possible respond.
Options for the SE of England include:
- A third runway at Heathrow
- Up to 3 more runways at Stansted
- One or two new runways at Gatwick
- Brand new airport with 4 runways at Cliffe (Kent)
- Significant expansion of flights and passengers at other airports
The documents are rather long and complex and are therefore not easy to respond to. More important, they are seriously and systematically biased. The reader is lead to believe, by a series of partial and unbalanced statements, that it is necessary to have a huge and continuous growth in air travel to protect jobs and the economy.
The most important omission of the original consultation was the issue of taxes and 'external costs'. At the request of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the government carried out new calculations assuming that air travel would pay its external costs and fair share of taxes by 2030. The conclusions are radically changed - there is no need for more runways or airports in the SE or the whole of the UK. This vital conclusion has been suppressed in the revised consultation documents.
In addition to the econonics, jobs and tax issues, the environmental impacts of the proposed growth are systematically under-stated. The government's own Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) has said that the consulation is "misleading".
In view of these concerns, non-governmental organisations have put together briefings on the consultation. These organisations include:
- Aviation Environment Federation (AEF)
- Transport 2000
- Friends of the Earth (FOE)
- Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (HACAN)
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
- Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE)
- National Society for Clean Air (NSCA)
The briefings are intended to guide the public through the documents and help them make informed and pertinent responses.
You are strongly recommended to look at these briefings before you respond to the consultation. See our 4 page briefing [Word file] which outlines the issues with particular reference to West London and the Heathrow area. See also our detailed response [Word file] of Dec 02 to the consultation. For other briefings and further information, visit the Airport Watch web site.