In time for the November 2002 deadline, the Church Lawford and King’s Newnham Anti-Airport Action Group submitted their response document to the Government Proposals An extract from the first few pages is below, along with a link to the complete document.
INTRODUCTION
This document has been prepared and submitted on behalf of all the residents of Church Lawford and King’s Newnham by the Anti-Airport Action Group, elected by the residents at an open meeting. It has been endorsed by Church Lawford Parish Council and King’s Newnham Parish Meeting.
The response is structured in line with the Government’s request, as detailed in ‘The Future Development of Air Transport: Midlands – A National Consultation’.
In addition to responses to all the questions posed in the Government’s consultation document, there is a summary sheet that highlights the main points of the response. This summary clearly illustrates the strength of the argument in favour of selecting UK-Wide Constrained as the only valid National Policy Scenario.
SUMMARY
The UK-Wide Constrained Scenario should form the basis of the UK’s national aviation strategy. This Scenario has been chosen for numerous reasons:
NATIONAL
- There is a heavy weight of evidence which casts grave doubts on the accuracy of the Government’s forecasts for anticipated passenger numbers. The forecasts are therefore an unsafe basis on which to establish a national aviation strategy.
- Even assuming the forecast figures are feasible, the policy should be one of ‘demand management’ rather than ‘predict and provide’. Not only has the Government stated its commitment to demand management and employed it within other transport sectors, but the limitations to oil and gas supplies are likely to make it essential.
- Maximum use of operations at existing airports, plus just one new runway in the South East (allowed for under the UK-Wide Constrained Scenario), will meet demand until 2030 when demand management controls are imposed.
- Aviation is currently a protected industry, exempt from certain taxes and VAT payments. Any change in this situation is highly likely to push up ticket prices, and – because travel has been demonstrated to be price sensitive – thereby reduce demand.
- Air transport has damaging environmental effects. Globally, it contributes to global warming and depletion of the ozone layer; locally it gives rise to noise, air pollution and the destruction of the countryside. The Government has signed up to numerous international treaties and agreements committing to protect the environment.
- There have been no comprehensive costs or environmental estimates provided for the surface access developments necessary to meet increased air traveller demand. Equally, there are no figures to show the public transport requirements or the costs of meeting this demand.
- Tourist traffic accounts for almost 80% of airline passengers. However, tourism currently shows a net deficit of £8.6 billion pa. Due to advances in information technology, business travel is likely to decline, while the tourism deficit will grow to £11.7 billion pa by 2030. The industry (excluding freight) therefore cannot be described as a major contributor to the UK economy.
MIDLANDS
- Birmingham International Airport is a major feature of the UK’s second city and should remain open along with East Midlands Airport, operating at maximum use levels to service the overall Midlands demand.
- We strongly believe the proposed new Rugby/Coventry airport is ill conceived, financially unsound and not necessary.
- If a new Rugby/Coventry airport were to be built it would have a devastating effect on the rural communities of many villages. In particular, Church Lawford and King’s Newnham, which have a very close knit and caring communal spirit, would be destroyed.
- The area of the proposed Rugby/Coventry airport is rural land – largely green belt – which is currently farmed productively. It is rich in cultural heritage and biodiversity.
- The River Avon passes through the site of the proposed airport. There are major concerns that the airport would exacerbate the problems with flooding of the valley.
- The labour market in Rugby, Coventry and surrounding towns is buoyant, with unemployment ranging between 1.8% (Rugby) and 3.1% (Coventry) – giving a total unemployed figure of 5,500 in towns within a 10-mile radius of the new site. It would be inconceivable that 59,000 ‘new’ jobs could be satisfied locally.
- The proposed Rugby/Coventry airport, combined with the closure of Birmingham Airport, would move employment opportunities from an area of high unemployment to one of low unemployment, thus exacerbating social exclusion rather than aiding social inclusion.
- The housing market in the Rugby/Coventry area is already close to overheating. There is no thorough discussion of how thousands of extra workers could be accommodated or catered for in terms of education, health, etc, and no analysis of the costs involved.
- The new Rugby/Coventry airport would increase journey times for a large proportion of Midlands fliers originating in the West, South West and North West Midlands, as well as those from the South East of England.
The document can be downloaded in full here. A timeline of events, with links to further documents can be found here.