§ LORD TREFGARNEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government—
- (i) whether the British Airports Authority intend to build a second runway at Gatwick Airport;
- (ii) what would be the cost;
- (iii) by what percentage such a runway, if built, would increase the capacity of the Airport.
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY (LORD BESWICK)My Lords, I would refer the noble Lord to the replies which I gave to Questions by the noble Lord, Lord Reigate, on April 10 and May 21. The British Airports Authority have no present intention to build a second runway at Gatwick Airport. Consequently, we have no current estimate of the cost or capacity of such a runway which would vary, for example, according to its physical characteristics, its location and the type of traffic which might use it.
§ LORD TREFGARNEMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for that reply, which I think will give a lot of satisfaction in many quarters, may I ask whether he is aware that hitherto there has been a sad case of planning blight to the North-East of Gatwick? Furthermore, is he aware of the widespread rumour that has been abroad that the B.A.A. are planning to build a short second runway at Gatwick, suitable perhaps only for STOL aircraft?
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, there have been these speculations and of course, as the noble Lord knows, it would be eminently suitable for that kind of 1720 traffic. But at the moment the fact is that the one runway can accommodate all kinds of traffic.
§ LORD TREFGARNEMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord one other question? Is he aware that when this matter was first mooted, at the time when Stansted was originaly projected as the third London airport, it was said that the second runway at Gatwick would have to be built to the North of the existing runway and that the geographical limitations of the runway were such that the total capacity of Gatwick would be increased by only about 10 per cent. as a result of the construction of this new runway?
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, as the noble Lord knows, all those figures and speculations of some years ago are to some extent rendered out of date by the technical developments that have taken place. I cannot say where the runway might be because the fact of the matter is that there are no plans for a second runway.