Ecologists pledge to carry on Stansted fight
Environmentalists have pledged to resist the government’s plans to expand Stansted Airport.
In a White Paper yesterday, the government made its case for a new runway at Stansted airport to be constructed within the next decade.
Transport Secretary Alastair Darling told MPs the new runway would be built by 2011.
Mr Darling also backed the construction of a third runway at Heathrow by 2020, subject to environmental planning regulations.
But environmental groups say the industry produces high levels of pollution and are calling for the introduction of an air “congestion charge.”
A spokesman for the Environmental Pollution Commission called on the Government to reassess its aviation policies.
Dr Peter Hinchliffe said the Government should deter excessively rapid growth in the sector.
He said: “We are not trying to deprive people of cheap holidays which we all take advantage of, but we are saying that it is about time that the government were making steps to stop it growing so quickly.
“If you stop it increasing in the future you actually don’t need more runways.”
Roger Higman, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth (FoE) said aviation, the “fastest” growing source of the pollution causing climate change, was “the number one environmental problem facing the world.”
“Noise, the local pollution, the impact on the quality of life for the hundreds of thousands of people who live in the flight path, the government has completely ignored their objections and we think the government needs to think this policy again.”
But Mr Darling said the paper struck the right balance between the consumer benefit from flying and the environmental impact that ensues.
Concurring with the same sentiment, Mike Clasper, BAA CEO, said the government had judiciously balanced economic benefits and environmental risks.
“I think the important thing is that aviation brings a lot of benefits. I think we should be allowed to expand providing we responsibly address the environmental issues.”
Mike Fairchild, a spokesman for the Stop Stansted Campaign, vowed to carry on the fight. He said the campaign would be stepped up.
“We this is all about saying to our supporters not just in the immediate area of Stansted but right across Essex and Hertfordshire this is by no means of the campaign. On the contrary it is the beginning of a new phase,” he explained.
“BAA knows Stansted is not viable without subsides from Heathrow: frankly it is a dead duck.”
