Second runway 'cancelled'?

Birmingham Airport anti-Noise Group

Wednesday, 26th September 2007

Runway is cancelled, but residents can't sleep easy yet

Birmingham Airport anti-Noise Group (BANG) [1] has welcomed the announcement by Birmingham International Airport (BIA) Limited that the proposed new second runway had been dropped from the airport company's forthcoming development master plan.

But, says the Birmingham and Solihull residents' campaign group, local people living in the shadow of the airport should not be misled by claims that the plan to extend the existing runway by 2012 represents an environmentally friendly alternative.

In an Interim Statement released today (26th September), BIA revealed that 'updated traffic forecasts now indicate that a second runway should not be needed before 2030 and the Airport is being planned on that basis', but that 'priority [will be] given to an extension to the main runway, which could be open before 2012'. A third passenger terminal is also proposed, with the first phase of construction scheduled for 2018. [2]

Secretary of BANG James Botham said:

"We welcome the announcement by the airport company that the second runway had been indefinitely postponed, but residents near BIA and under the flight path cannot sleep easy yet. The environmental impact of the airport is still set to increase over the next twenty-three years, if the plans summarised in today's Interim Statement are brought to fruition. What's more, many more people will find themselves affected who previously were spared the misery of aircraft noise pollution."

BANG, which represents local people affected by aircraft noise pollution and blight from the airport, is concerned that operating a longer runway will mean:

Closer and lower flights over residential areas; [3]
More people over a wider area exposed to aircraft noise pollution;
Scrapping operational measures designed to mitigate noise. For example, with a longer runway, the airport will no longer be able to operate the 'Hampton Turn', the southerly departure route from the current runway which takes planes away from the village of Hampton-in-Arden; [4]
More airport-related traffic congestion on an already over-stretched transport network.

Mr Botham dismissed the airport company's claim that the runway extension would help address climate change by helping BIA 'claw back' West Midlands air travellers who currently make long car journeys to other airports in search of direct long-haul flights.[5] He said:

"Follow this 'claw-back' argument to its logical conclusion and you'll end up with a Heathrow in every region. Besides, the lion's share of BIA's future growth will come from a rise in demand in the West Midlands for short-haul flights, not from a greater retention of travellers currently going elsewhere to start direct long-haul air journeys. Overall, the airport's contribution to climate change, directly from aircraft emissions and indirectly from associated road journeys, will continue to grow."

BANG, is calling for the development of BIA to proceed in a way which does not lead to environmental impact of the airport's operations increasing, relative to today, over the period to 2030.[6]

Editor's Notes

[1] BANG was formed in 2001 by Hodge Hill and Castle Bromwich residents with the help of Birmingham Friends of the Earth to campaign against the unsustainable expansion of BIA and lobby for more action to reduce aircraft noise. The group currently has over 450 official supporters in Birmingham and Solihull. See www.bhamantinoise.org.uk.

[2] BIA Ltd., 'Towards 2030: Birmingham International Airport Master Plan Interim Statement', 26th September 2007.

[3] The airport company acknowledged this concern, raised by Catherine-de-Barnes Residents' Association at the Airport Consultative Committee meeting of 23rd May 2007. See the minutes of the meeting.

[4] BIA Ltd. and a a Health Impact Assessment Steering Group have commissioned IMPACT, the International Health Impact Assessment Consortium, based in Public Health at the University of Liverpool, to undertake a health impact assessment of the proposed runway extension. Workshops were held with local community organisations on 10th and 11th September 2007 in Marston Green, Solihull and Sheldon. A presentation provided by the airport company to IMPACT includes a new map of the current and forecast 57 dBLaeq 'noise contours', showing how the noise footprint will expand as the airport grows. The presentation also stated that the 'Hampton Turn' would not be possible with a longer runway.

[5] John Morris, director of communications at BIA, told the Birmingham Post earlier this month that the longer runway would be environmentally friendly because it would allow more passengers to fly from their local airport rather than driving to Manchester, Heathrow or Gatwick. See http://tinyurl.com/29aulm (tinyurl.com is website that shortens lengthy web addresses to a more manageable size).

[6] See BANG's submission to the airport company's 2005-6 draft master plan public consultation.

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