As well as the local efforts documented in this archive, there was also a campaign committee set up to bring together various agencies who would be affected by the airport proposal. This was established as the key action from a Public Meeting on 7th August 2002 – the minutes are detailed below.
Minutes of Public Meeting: “Future Development of Air Transport in the UK: Midlands”
Held on 7th August 2002 in the Benn Hall, Rugby.
Chaired by Andy King, the meeting was attended by 700 people with a further 2-300 outside the Hall.
Welcome & Introduction from Andy King MР:
Andy King outlined the background to the debate over the future of Air Transport in the UK and in particular the Rugby proposal.
He made several major points:
- The announcement was a shock to him and other elected representatives but we must take the proposal very seriously
- We must come together as a united community – both town and country
- We must make the best use of the four brief months for consultation
- We must ensure that the voice of the Rugby area is heard in Parliament and Government. AK has already asked the Secretary of State for Transport (Alistair Darling) to meet a delegation
- Our arguments must be reasoned – NIMBYism will get us nowhere
- We must not allow this to become a partisan issue
AK said that he would propose at the end of the meeting that an umbrella group is set up.
Cllr Ian Bottrill (Leader, Warwickshire County Council):
IB addressed the rumour that the Rugby proposal was merely a device to make the expansion of Birmingham Airport a more acceptable option – this may or may not be the case, but the Rugby option had a number of attractions for many people living outside the immediate area. Even within Warwickshire there are those who want Birmingham Airport to close – since some areas lie beneath the current flight paths.
The County Council is taking legal advice about compensation for those who have lost out on the sale of their homes or who have seen the sale value of their homes fall as a result of the announcement.
Consultants will be commissioned by the County Council to check the figures and assumptions in the Consultation document and undertake Impact Assessments on all of the proposals affecting Warwickshire – taking into account the effects on health; the environment; the regional economy; ground transport; housing needs and house prices. There will be intensive consultation with the people of Warwickshire.
Once these two steps are completed Warwickshire County Council will form an opinion. This is expected in early November 2002. There will be no prejudging the issue, and conclusions will be founded upon a solid evidential base.
Cllr Craig Humphrey (Leader, Rugby Borough Council):
CH expressed his anger at the proposal. He announced that a special meeting of the Cabinet of RBC will be held on 14th August to discuss the proposals. In his view the two priorities must be to oppose the proposals and to pursue redress for those blighted by the announcement.
Andrew Thompson (Conservation Manager, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust):
AT focused upon the forecast that there will be a threefold increase in air travel. Two responses are possible – manage demand or manage supply. There is not the same priority given to the former as to the latter. Government subsidises air travel by around £8bn by not taxing aircraft fuel or charging VAT on air tickets and by allowing duty free purchases at airports and on aircraft.
The need to research the figures and test the assumptions behind all of the West Midland proposals was stressed.
Wider ecological impacts must be considered and AT outlined some of the effects of the proposed new airport, and of building an extra runway at Birmingham International.
Alan Gear (Chief Executive HDRA, Ryton Organic Gardens):
AG recalled the recent fight to stop a trial of GM Crops. The HDRA organisation of 30,000 members was mobilised, and will be again to fight the threat of the Rugby option, which would be devastating for Ryton Organic Gardens.
The impact of noise on the area surrounding the site was noted, and the assumptions of growth in air travel were challenged on the grounds that cheap travel was unlikely to continue.
AG stressed that we must take a responsible approach to the Environment. We must assume that the proposal is serious but united we can defeat it.
Brian Summers (Managing Director, Birmingham International Airport):
Mr Summers was invited by Andy King to give an industry perspective, and wanted to make it clear that Birmingham International Airport Ltd is not pursuing the Rugby option.
Mr Summers discussed the economic impact of aviation. Airports are important for business and regional strength and being competitive. Currently only about 50% of regional demand is met within the region itself. A framework plan is welcome, without it the West Midlands Region will suffer.
“This is a regional issue, we must act across the whole of the West Midlands. The strongest solution in my view is to continue the development of Birmingham International. There is also a case for developing East Midlands Airport. We need that and we can provide it. The Rugby Option is really about the capacity problems in the South East of England. It would only come into play if there continued to be insufficient capacity there. We need to be united in the interests of the whole West Midlands Region and clearly that option isn’t Rugby.”
Public Questions and Comments:
There were 36 separate contributions, on a range of key issues, including:
- What is the decision making process? Once the consultation process had finished the Department of Transport would consider all the regions together, and publish its preferred option in a White Paper that would be debated in Parliament. The only certain date is the close of the consultation period on 30th November 2002. The White Paper would appear some time in 2003.
- What research has been done, and will be done? – Ian Bottrill said that Warwickshire County Council – as Minerals Authority and Highways Authority had not been asked for information or views. There is nothing in the Consultation Document about where the figures come from. Warwickshire County Council will commission expert consultants to research the various impacts. Andy King noted that the Consultation Document lists supporting documents, but none of these are currently available. He is pressing for publication.
- Will MPs come together with a plan of action for the Midlands? Andy King outlined an Early Day Motion sponsored by Richard Burden MP (Labour, Birmingham Northfield) (EDM 1682), which has cross party support. He has signed it.
- Will the relevant documents be placed in public libraries? Andy King says he will be pushing for this. Individuals can also get copies sent to them by the department of Transport.
- What about Bill Olner, MP for Nuneaton? Andy King read a letter of support from Mr Olner, who was unable to attend the meeting. He is totally opposed to the Rugby proposal.
- In response to a question about dealing with Solihull opposition to the Birmingham Airport expansion option, Brian Summers said that one of the advantages of the Birmingham option was that it was incremental. Only if demand actually warranted expansion would it take place. This ‘incremental approach’ was better than the ‘big bang’ approach of building a new airport from scratch.
- Andy King noted that 5 copies of the Consultation Paper can be requested by any individual
- In response to a question about the process by which the Rugby option had been selected, Brian Summers described the development of Government policy. In the 1998 White Paper ‘New deal for transporf the government committed itself to public consultation. After the 2000 White Paper on the future of aviation, work started to look at options, but that exercise considered a wide range of potential solutions to projected increases in demand. Andy King stressed that any work done by consultants employed to advise the Government had not included talking to local authorities in the area. He would be making enquiries to find out who had done the work leading to the Rugby proposal, and hold them accountable.
Motion to set up a Coordinating Group:
It was proposed that a co-ordinating committee be set up, to include representatives from
- Parish Councils & local Action Groups
- Rugby Borough Council (Group leaders)
- Warwickshire County Council (Group leaders)
- Rugby Area Committee
- Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
- Council for the Protection of Rural England
- HDRA (Henry Doubleday Research Association)
- Friends of the Earth/Rugby Agenda 21
- Rugby Primary Care Trust
- Chamber of Commerce
- Council for Voluntary Service
- NFU
The proposal was put to the meeting, and agreed unanimously.