Birmingham Airport anti-Noise Group

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Monday 18th October 2004

Photo Opportunity: Tuesday 19th October 2004, Ivy Leaf Social Club, Coventry Road, Sheldon, 7.30pm for 8pm start. Anti-airport expansion campaigners with banners and placards join local residents and councillors for a public meeting.

Blighted - but will we be compensated?

Three local residents groups' [1] campaigning against the expansion of Birmingham International Airport are holding a public meeting on Tuesday 19th October at the Ivy Leaf Social Club, Sheldon, to discuss the compensation options the Airport is offering to those local residents it regards as likely to be worst affected by the proposed second runway.

The Airport is inviting local people's views [2] on its proposals to compensate or assist with relocation those residents whose properties lie within certain forecast 'noise contours' for the second runway. Who does and does not get consulted (let alone compensated) is effectively determined by drawing lines on a map around the site of the proposed runway.

If you are one of the 'lucky ones' within the invisible boundary of the noise contours you could have your house purchased by the Airport company (based on June 2002 market value) but not until 2007 at the earliest, and possibly not until 2014. If you do not fall inside the boundary, even though you're near neighbour might, you will get nothing. The noise contours exclude the vast majority of properties currently affected by 'generalised blight' as well as the most of the properties who will be affected by the runway operations if it goes ahead.

Elmdon resident and member of Save Elmdon Action Group Lester Beeson said:

"The situation is absurd. How can it be right that one resident receives nothing from the Airport by way of compensation yet across the road a neighbour could either be bought out or helped to move? They will both be blighted and both will be equally affected if the runway goes ahead, but because they are on the wrong side of an arbitrary line on a map they can apparently be ignored. There are a great many people in this position, many of whom are not even aware of how they are being cheated. Among those that are aware, there's a lot of anger."

Dave Cuthbert, Chairman of SOAR said:

"We've called this meeting to try and give the issue of compensation a proper airing. My experience of this consultation so far gives me little confidence that BIA's management either understands the extent of the blight they have created, or that they are serious about consulting people. The voluntary compensation package will leave residents either facing years trapped in blighted homes or left out in the cold altogether. This doesn't feel like a consultation: it feels like a damage limitation exercise."

James Botham, Secretary of BANG said:

"Naturally, the Airport want to push through their second runway while keeping the cost of compensating the local residents as low as possible. They expect the community in large part to bear the environmental, social and economic cost of expansion. This is a classic example of the way in which society is made to foot the bill for the aviation industry's excesses. No doubt the Airport's management will say that compensating everyone who stands to be affected would be too costly but that only confirms what we've been saying all along: a second runway just isn't worth the cost to the environment, the community and people's quality of life."

Editor's Notes

[1] Tuesday's meeting has been called by Solihull Opposing Additional Runways (SOAR), Birmingham Airport anti-Noise Group (BANG), and Save Elmdon Action Group (SEAG). Birmingham and Solihull councillors, constituency MPs, campaigners from regional environmental organisations, and representatives of Birmingham Airport have been invited to attend.

[2] The Airport's consultation, part of its Master Plan Review process, runs until 30th November 2004. Send responses to:

Master Plan Review Voluntary Compensation Schemes,
Birmingham International Airport Limited,
Birmingham
B26 3QJ
or email runway@bhx.co.uk

The consultation document can be viewed on-line at www.bhx.co.uk/vcs_Consultation.pdf