§ Lord Rotherwickasked Her Majesty's Government:
How they intend to take into account the contribution of general and business aviation to local economies as they develop an aviation policy for the next 30 years. [HL3727]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonThe Future of Aviation consultation paper published in December 2000 posed questions on a wide range of aviation issues, including questions on the role of general aviation. The role of business aviation has also been considered in the airport capacity studies we have carried out covering the whole of the UK. We plan to publish these studies shortly and bring forward proposals on which we will consult. We will analyse responses to the two consultation exercises before bringing forward new 8WA aviation and airports policies in an air transport White Paper.
The Government have also decided to support research by the General Aviation Awareness Council which will examine the economic impact of general aviation, and are intending to commission a separate piece of research to examine the noise impacts of general aviation.
§ Lord Rotherwickasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will consider strengthening the provisions of Planning Policy Guidance 13 (PPG13) in respect of general aviation aerodromes and in particular the account that local authorities should take of the contribution of general aviation to local and regional economies when formulating planning policies and procedures. [HL3728]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonThe Government have decided to support research by the General Aviation Awareness Council which will examine the contribution of general aviation to both local and regional economies. Separate research looking at the environmental impacts of general aviation will also be commissioned. Once the projects have been completed, we will look at the findings and consider whether our policies on general aviation and the guidance in PPG13 needs to be reviewed.