Parliament should approve the Airports National Policy Statement
(NPS), says the Transport Select Committee, but only after
Government addresses the concerns set out in its Report.
Government now has the opportunity to make changes to the NPS,
before it is laid before both Houses of Parliament for debate. In
today’s Report on the Airports National Policy Statement, the
Committee warns that important safeguards should be strengthened
or added to the NPS before this happens.
A decision by Parliament to approve the Airports NPS would allow
the planning process to move onto detailed work around scheme
design and in effect gives outline planning permission for the
Government’s preferred scheme, a Northwest runway at Heathrow
Airport.
The Committee accepted there was a case for additional runway
capacity, particularly hub capacity and that expansion at
Heathrow could deliver the Government’s strategic objectives for
greater connectivity for passengers and freight.
MPs recognised the efforts made by the Government and Heathrow
Airport Ltd to mitigate the significant social and environmental
impacts arising from expansion at Heathrow.
But additional safeguards are needed to ensure that the interests
of passengers are protected, and the adverse environmental,
social and health impacts on affected communities are
addressed. These include:
- Air quality
- Surface access
- Regional connectivity
- Scheme costs and airport charges
- Noise
- Community impacts and compensation
- Resource and waste management.
Sections of the draft NPS dealing with these matters should be
revised before a final NPS is tabled for approval by both Houses
of Parliament.
The Committee also identified associated policy measures that
were required if expansion at Heathrow was to be delivered
effectively. These include:
- policy on airspace change
- wider Government policies on air quality, noise and surface
access improvements
- effective use of existing airport capacity.
The Chair of the Transport Committee, MP, said:
“The Committee’s recommendations improve the NPS and reduce the
chance of a successful legal challenge.
“The Northwest Runway scheme, as set out in the draft NPS, is the
highest cost expansion option and one of the largest privately
financed infrastructure projects anywhere in the world.
“At present, the draft NPS does not guarantee that passengers
will be protected from the cost risks associated with the scheme.
The Secretary of State must set out how airport charges will be
held down.
“During our inquiry, we heard how communities might be affected.
Thousands of people across London could be exposed to worse
levels of noise, air quality and traffic congestion - there must
be sufficient measures to protect or compensate them.
“The Government and Heathrow have made efforts to mitigate these
significant impacts, but safeguards on air quality, surface
access, connectivity, costs and charges and noise should be
strengthened. As a matter of urgency, we also want to see how the
Government plans to deliver the necessary airspace change.
“This must all be done before a final NPS is tabled for approval
by both Houses of Parliament.”
