News Release : 15 June 2005

ASSEMBLY OPPOSES SECOND RUNWAY AT GATWICK AND CHALLENGES AVIATION WHITE PAPER

The South East England Regional Assembly has warned that a second runway and third terminal at Gatwick are unsustainable. The Assembly’s Planning Committee was responding to BAA's consultation on its proposed Masterplan for Gatwick Airport, prepared in response to the Government's Aviation White Paper. There is particular concern about the surface access implications of the Masterplan's options.

At the same time comprehensive new research for the Assembly by independent consultants Roger Tym and Partners demonstrates that the Government's plans for massive aviation expansion in the South East conflict with its own Sustainable Development Strategy, its Energy Strategy and much of its wider Transport Strategy. Airport expansion runs the risk of undermining progress on climate change with a major increase in CO2 pollution from aviation.

Cllr Keith Mitchell, Chairman of the Assembly's Regional Planning Committee said: "The Committee finds an additional runway and third terminal at Gatwick thoroughly unsustainable, particularly in the light of our new research. Roger Tym and Partners has produced an important and very professional report. The Assembly already had serious doubts about the direction of the Aviation White Paper. This report underlines our concerns and suggests that the problem is even worse than we feared. Government needs to rethink its aviation policy to bring it in line with its wider approach to sustainable development."

Roger Tym and Partners recommend that the overall Government aviation policy is substantially modified, so as to develop a more sustainable approach to air travel. They suggest a five-point strategy:

• Move on from the "predict and provide" approach.
• Require the aviation market to adapt to the wider agenda by
  
  
  • increasing the price of air tickets to cover the costs of climate change, noise and air pollution, and
  • ensuring that landing charges at congested airports reflect demand.
• Introduce measures to mitigate aviation's impact on climate change and wider sustainability.
• Increase the economic and social benefits from aviation by a much stronger emphasis on regional and sub-regional airports.
• Encourage and support less damaging alternatives to air transport, especially high-speed train travel.

Michelle Kirby, Senior Associate at Roger Tym and Partners commented: "At the current time, the available evidence does not provide any reason why either the general recommendations of the Aviation White Paper on levels of growth, or the recommendations in relation to the individual airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick should be supported. It concludes that the White Paper does not fit with many national policies and is inherently unsustainable."

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Heather Bolton, Head of Communications - 01483 555220

Notes to editors:

1. The research by Roger Tym and Partners on "The costs and funding of growth in South East England, June 2005" is available to download from our Transport section.
2. The Regional Assembly is the "voluntary regional chamber" for the South East. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the South East region which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, and Surrey.
3. The Assembly is made up of 112 members including elected councillors nominated by the region's local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations).
4. The Assembly has three areas of core business:
1. It is the representative voice of the South East, engaging and representing its member organisations and, through them, the wider public.
2. The Assembly has a specific role under the Regional Development Agencies' Act 1998 to ensure the accountability of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to the region.
3. The Assembly has been the Regional Planning Body for the South East since April 2001. It has responsibility for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government.

Last updated: 21 August 2007

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