Heathrow, Stansted Airport Expansion "Should Be Delayed"
A report by the government's own environmental advisers has said the proposed expansion of Heathrow and Stansted Airports should be delayed.
The report, by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), a think-tank which advises government ministers on environmental and economic issues, said the economic effects of the proposals had been greatly overstated and the environmental impact of possible developments at the two London airports underestimated.
Entitled "Breaking the Holding Pattern", the SDC report said the evidence that has been used to advance the case for the development of Heathrow and Stansted, was "inadequate" and the subject of "fundamental disagreement".
The SDC went further, saying the data underpinning the Government's civil aviation policy outlined in the 2003 Air Transport White Paper - which called for the development of UK airports, specifically those in the south-east including Heathrow and Stansted - was fundamentally flawed. It said the government should re-evaluate its aviation policy, and that an independent Commission should be established to handle air transport planning.
Heathrow Airport Expansion Plans
The plans to expand Heathrow to include a sixth terminal and third runway by 2020 were first outlined in November. A three-month consultation period followed, during which time an intense debate emerged between those supporting the developments, such as airlines and local business groups, and anti-expansion campaginers including environmentalists and local councils. The Stansted expansion plans, which include a second runway and terminal, were formally unveiled in March.
The SDC report seemed to come down on the side of the anti-expansion campaigners. The SDC said that the government's calculations regarding the economic benefits of the Stansted and Heathrow Airport expansion plans had used a false "base", resulting in over-estimation in the economic benefits and under-estimation of carbon dioxide emissions from the proposed developments.
Hugh Raven from the SDC said: "The government thinks its evidence base is adequate. We don't think it is. This data is heavily contested. While we expected to find areas of conflict, we were unprepared for the level of fundamental disagreement over the data".
The SDC went on to argue that because of the disputed evidence "the UK cannot be in a position to make major decisions about the future of air travel". It said that decisions on future developments at Heathrow and Stansted were "impossible" because of the conflict in the evidence.
The report said it would be beneficial if the expansion plans were delayed in favour of a revision of its White Paper, and a further extension of the debate on airport expansion.
"While the evidence informing these decisions is so widely contested, and the outcomes of important political decisions on addressing aviation's climate impacts remain uncertain, we believe the risks of decisions in favour of expansion outweigh the possible benefits," the report said.
Airport Expansion Campaign
Those against the Heathrow and Stansted expansions unsurprisingly welcomed the SDC report.
Anna Jones, an airport expansion campaigner at Greenpeace, said: "Now even Gordon Brown's own environment advisers are calling on him to halt the rush towards Heathrow expansion. It's hardly surprising, given the overwhelming evidence that the case for a third runway has been fixed by the Government and the aviation industry."
The Department for Transport (DfT) criticised the SDC report, saying: "We fundamentally disagree with the findings of this report. It is simply wrong to claim that there is consensus that the evidence base [for expansion] is flawed... Given that the Government has conducted a widespread debate over the last six years, deferring a decision in favour of a further three-year debate as this report suggests is not a serious option".
BAA, which operates both Heathrow and Stansted, commented that any delay to the expansion plans would damage the economy and cause a "planning blight" for local residents around the airports.
Decision on the expansion at the two airports are due later this year.
Source - Airport International's London Reporter
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