Expansion of Stansted Airport Aug02 |
THE
massive expansion which could take place at Stansted airport will not only
despoil the beautiful countryside of mid Essex but also bring
unprecedented noise pollution to West Suffolk and the Stour Valley, and
especially to Sudbury. The main
flight path to Stansted from eastern and southern Europe follows a route
from Dusseldorf to Brussels and then over the North Sea to the Stour at
Harwich and then Sudbury. The explosion in low cost airlines operating out
of Stansted has already had a major impact on our part of East Anglia - if
the airport gets one, two or even three extra runways, our peace and
tranquillity will be shattered. In 2000,
Stansted airport handled around 12m passengers and its ongoing expansion
since 1948 has created many new jobs and prosperity for the area. In
November 2000, I wrote to the Managing Director of the British Airport's
Authority (BAA), the owners of Stansted Airport, to express my support for
a modest expansion over time with initial improvements in parking and the
road-rail infrastructure. The two
councils responsible for Stansted, Essex county and Uttlesford district,
should urge the British Airports Authority and the UK government to
consider only a modest expansion of Stansted, with a new airport in the
Thames Estuary to share capacity for increased air travel is a better
option, both economically and environmentally. I am also
urging Suffolk county and Babergh district to adopt this option as a
sensible solution to the dilemma of increased runway capacity in the South
East coupled with a need to protect our historic and beautiful
environment. Stansted,
with one runway in 2000, handled daily around 32,000 passengers on 220
flights (approx 14 flights per hour for 16 hour day). The proposed £5.2bn
expansion of Stansted from 1 to 4 runways will allow it to handle around
120,000 passengers on 800 flights (1 flight every minute), create 93,000
jobs at the airport and give a significant boost to the area's economy. I think
such a massive expansion of Stansted over a few years is unnecessary and
unacceptable. I see merit in sharing capacity with a new airport in the
Thames Estuary, possibly part funded by the EU, that will certainly
rejuvenate economically a deprived area. Stansted will have fewer new jobs
but the rural character of Suffolk and Essex that attracts all residents
and many foreign tourists will be preserved. I hope common sense prevails!
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