Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Reigate MP, Crispin Blunt, slams Airports Commission report short-listing Gatwick for 2nd runway
Reigate MP Crispin Blunt has attacked the recent Airports Commission interim report and its short-listing of proposals for a second runway at Gatwick. The Conservative MP, who recently won a battle to be re-selected to stand for the party in Reigate at the next General Election, called the report “nothing short of calamitous” for his constituents. And he said the development a second runway at Gatwick would bring with it “would devastate the local environment and leave the UK with its major airport in the wrong place.” In a statement on his website, Mr Blunt said he had “registered his dismay at the Airports Commission interim report. However, he remains keen on a Thames estuary airport. He says the interim report "merely represents a series of damaging, and potentially catastrophic compromises." “The second runway at Gatwick airport would be a disaster for the surrounding communities and environment” especially due to the level of development associated with an airport serving three times as many passengers as it does now - where could some 40,000 new houses be built.
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Regional prefect signs orders on water & biodiversity – real threat work might start on Notre-Dame des Landes airport
Support continues to grow for the Nantes campaigners There are now over 200 support groups backing the campaigners fighting the proposed new airport at Notre-Dames-des-Landes outside Nantes. The campaign suffered a setback when the EU refused to insist the French authorities should carry out a full environmental assessment of the impact of the new airport. On 21st December the local prefecture finally signed the papers, on the law relating to water and biodiversity. There is now a real threat that the Notre-Dame des Landes airport could be built. However, the battle is far from over as the opponents will take legal action to get the papers annulled, and suspend construction, through proving the state is infringing part of the Water Act. Elected environmentalists are willing to break their alliance with the Socialists in regional council over the issue. They will leave the alliance if the airport goes ahead, and form a blocking minority politically. There will also be a mass mobilization across France. The next big demonstration is on 22nd February. The Nantes campaign, ACIPA, say they will block the building work. ACIPA say: "We will not let them! Work will not start!" They are anticipating a new wave of expulsions on the land earmarked for the airport, where there are a dozen legal occupants and up to 200 illegally occupants.
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“Grow Heathrow” still hanging on in Sipson – which would be wiped out by a 3rd northern runway
A small Transition community calling itself Grow Heathrow set up in Sipson three years ago, in order to give heart to the community, so badly damaged by the runway threat and the purchase by Heathrow airport of many properties. The Grow Heathrow site is a hub for local residents and environmental activists to share knowledge and practical skills such as organic gardening, permaculture design, bicycle maintenance and wood and metal work. They endeavour to be self-reliance, producing their own food; by use of solar and wind power, as well as simpler heating technologies, they are completely "off grid". They collect water from the greenhouse roofs to feed the plants, fruit and vegetables; they use fuel-efficient rocket stoves to heat water; they have compost toilets making "humanure." The site has been under threat of eviction for many months. Following an Appeal Court decision on 3rd July 2013 that the landowner could take possession, nothing has happened. They could be evicted at any time. They are still trying to negotiate with the landowner to buy the land, and the legal process seeking to apply to appeal to the Supreme Court is still trundling along. Meanwhile Heathrow's proposal for a 3rd runway in the Harmondsworth area, west of Sipson, has been short-listed by the Airports Commission.
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Heathrow Airport plans to get residents’ views on preferred option for a 3rd runway attacked by campaign group
Heathrow Airport has intimated to the FT that it plans to consult residents on which of the two options, chosen by the Airports Commission, they prefer for a 3rd runway. This has been condemned by campaign group HACAN as like being asked ‘whether you prefer being murdered by Jack the Ripper or the Boston Strangler.’ Heathrow was probably surprised to find one option proposed by the Commission was by Heathrow Hub. They are not keen on this option. The aim of a consultation will be to get backing for their own scheme, for a northern runway. It will hinge on the noise issue. The extent of respite from aircraft noise will be a critical aspect of any runway proposals.. If there is a 3rd, northern, runway it could mean those living under the existing two runway flight paths would only get a shorter respite period per day, and a whole linear expanse of London would then start to be affected by aircraft noise. For a 3rd northern runway to be profitable, it will have to be used intensively. The reduction in respite periods, perhaps of only one third of a day, rather than half the day (from 3pm as at present) will be deeply unpopular. Even less popular would be the lack of respite at all with the Heathrow Hub northern runway. See Hacan's comment on the two options.
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HACAN’s New Year Quiz
HACAN's quiz. Test yourself with these 10 questions on Heatthow (mainly). You may be surprised by some of the answers ... For example, Who said: “Whatever technological advances in noise and air pollution reduction have been — or will be — made, common sense dictates that the additional 260,000 annual flights facilitated by a third runway would entail a commensurate reduction in the quality of life of many Londoners”.
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Surrey Chambers of Commerce delighted Airports Commission short-listed a new Gatwick runway
Gatwick Airport is a member of the Surrey Chambers of Commerce. It is therefore no great surprise to find the Chamber has expressed its pleasure that the Airports Commission has short -listed Gatwick as one of two sites for a new runway. They say businesses in the south east would benefit. They also believe businesses (ignoring affected residents?) would benefit even more by having a new runway at Heathrow too. They have in the past backed Gatwick's idea of a new runway at both Gatwick and Stansted - though that has been ruled out for the time being, by the Commission. In the view of the Chamber, a new runway would provide" significant economic benefit and sustainable employment in the South East." And they want it as soon as possible. They want "access to excellent overseas connections, not only for our local businesses but also for the multi-nationals that locate here rather than in other parts of Europe." The Chamber will hold a panel discussion at Epsom racecourse on 12th March on the Heathrow, Gatwick and Grain runway options. "Whilst there are still decisions to be made we are confident that investment in the South East will bring an excellent rate of return," says the Chamber.
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Anger of residents near Sevenoaks over NATS’ Gatwick flight plan proposals
There is currently a consultation, by NATS, on changes to flight paths to and from Gatwick (as well as London City, Southend, and Biggin Hill airports) that ends on 21st January. There is real concern in the Weald area, that is overflown by Gatwick flights, that planes may bring them flights overhead flying at less than 4,000 feet over them from 2015. NATS and Gatwick claim the changes will "make the airport more efficient, reduce delays and allow more departures per hour", so making things more convenient for air travellers. Weald residents are outraged at the disturbance these changes, for passenger benefit, could cause them. They have formed a campaign - the Weald Action Group Against Noise - and have organised petitions. They will deliver the signatures to Sevenoaks MP Michael Fallon and are urging people to contact him directly via e-mail and to object through the online Gatwick Airport and National Air Traffic Services public consultation as well. The action group fears the proposals would "bring considerably more flights directly over Weald village at a height of under 4,000 feet", creating noise up to 70 decibels, equivalent to the sound of a vacuum cleaner, with more than 20 flights an hour at peak times." Gatwick says "overall" the changes will reduce noise for those living below - but that ignores far worse conditions created for some.
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Action group critical of ‘expensive charade’ of Luton council meeting approving airport expansion
The controversial decision by Luton Borough Council to approve the expansion of Luton Airport has been widely criticised by community groups. Michael Nidd, secretary of the London Luton Airport Town and Village Community Committee (LLATVCC),has described the delayed, 8-hour meeting on 20th December, in which the decision was made as a “very, very expensive charade.” Only 6 of the development control committee’s 11 members attended the meeting, which had already been postponed. This came after Herts County Council demanded a second, impartial, legal opinion on Luton Borough Council’s suitability to make the decision, given it owns all of the shares in the airport. Michael Nidd said: “Only six of [the councillors] bothered to turn up, and we had hours and hours of very highly-paid people in the morning saying what a splendid scheme it is, but when it came time to debate, discuss and vote they spent as long as 10 minutes on it." There is concern about the manner in which this decision, which has such colossal effects on all the surrounding communities, has been taken. Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning has written to Eric Pickles, to request that the decision be called in, due to the impacts on his constituency.
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Nick Clegg says the Airport Commission’s interim report findings “not set in stone”
Nick Clegg has said the Liberal Democrats may reject the Airports Commission’s final blueprint for a new runway in the South-East. He does not feel he is under any obligation to accept it, and said: “He’s producing an authoritative, independent report. He’s not producing a biblical tablet of stone which needs to be followed by everybody,” He refused to accept the conclusion of the Commission’s interim report that the South-East needs a new runway by 2030, and possibly another by 2050. He also said the Commission's interim report, to be published after the 2015 election, would not be a “biblical tablet of stone” that all politicians would have to support. The party's current policy is, and has been since before the 2010 election, that there should be no new runways in the South-East. The Standard says he has suggested he might back a new runway at Gatwick. On climate he said: "... the reason I’m against airport expansion, and certainly against the expansion at Heathrow, is that all the evidence I’ve seen until now has suggested that it’s impossible to do that without adding to current noise and air pollution levels and breaking the projections on carbon emissions under the Climate Change Act.”
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Luton campaigners expose ‘broken promise’ over aircraft noise at Luton
Luton campaign group, HALE, has exposed a broken promise at the heart of the planning conditions which are supposed to control future night noise from Luton Airport. A specific commitment made in the planning application, to reduce night noise limits to 80dB by January 2015 and thereafter to 77dB, has been omitted from the planning conditions attached to the recently passed planning application, so the night noise limit is set to stay at its current 82dB level. There is an overall planning condition to ban noisier classes of aircraft by an unspecified date some time between now and 2028, and to set overall noise limits by aircraft class. But the public consultation and the planning application both presented this “Quota Count” method as being in addition to a reduction in night noise limits, not a replacement for it. Commitments to reduce daytime noise limits are reflected by a planning condition with a definite timeframe, but the unconditional promise to reduce night-time noise limits to 80dB by January 2015 has been dropped. HALE say this is a scandal, and they have written to the Council insisting that the public commitments made by the airport to reduce the night noise limit by 1 January 2015 to 80dB, with a 5-yearly review to bring it down to 77dB, are both enshrined in the planning conditions.