HC Deb 17 July 1990 vol 176 cc473-4W
Mr. Haselhurst

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has yet received the Civil Aviation Authority's advice on United Kingdom airport and airspace capacity, which was commissioned for his Department in July 1988; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Parkinson

The Civil Aviation Authority is publishing today its advice on airport and airspace capacity. Copies of the report are being placed in the Library.

The CAA's work has had two main elements: first, an examination of what additional runway capacity appears to be needed to serve the south-east; and, secondly, an analysis of the technical feasibility, in airspace and air traffic control terms only, of the options for providing that capacity.

The CAA has reassessed its traffic forecasts. It has reached the view that extra runway capacity to serve the south-east will be required around the year 2005.

The authority looked at eight options for further development at existing airports. At my request, it did not consider green field sites. Sir Christopher Tugendhat, the chairman of the CAA, has noted in his covering letter to me that the Government will need to take account of many wider factors before making a choice. He has also acknowledged that the wider view might lead us to reject some locations which, from an airline or air traffic control viewpoint alone, might appear favourable.

The Government are in no way committed to any of the options identified by the CAA. I am acutely aware of the impact of airport development on the environment, on employment, and on local infrastructure. These matters will need to be thoroughly addressed and there will be no question of any major new runway development taking place without full public consultation and a public inquiry into any objections.

As the next step, I propose to establish a working group to examine these factors, and to make recommendations. Representatives from bodies representing local and environmental interests, from airport and airline operators, from the tourism and travel industry, and from Government Departments, will be invited to participate.

In their 1985 White Paper on airports policy, the Government expressed their view that a second runway should not be built at either Stansted or Gatwick. The considerations which led to that view remain compelling.

I shall be reminding the working group of the undertakings which have been given in the case of Gatwick and Stansted and of the acute environmental problems which gave rise to the views which the Government expressed on those airports in the 1985 White Paper. Obviously, the wider considerations the chairman referred to are no less relevant at Heathrow.

In its advice, the CAA has said that it believes that traffic at regional airports will continue to grow rapidly, but that this will not be an effective substitute for additional London area capacity. I shall be asking the working group to assess this conclusion most carefully and to gauge the extent to which regional airports can play a part in meeting the overall growth in demand, into the next century.