§ Lord Rotherwickasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions will in the near future be reminding planning authorities of the obligations placed on private aerodrome operators by the Civil Aviation Authority for airspace safeguarding in CAP 168 and 428. [HL1499]
§ Lord Macdonald of TradestonWe have no plans in this area beyond our proposed new direction and circular on the official safeguarding of aerodromes and navigation aids.
§ Lord Rotherwickasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions will bring forward any new initiatives to promote improved co-operation by planning authorities with aerodrome operators so as to achieve satisfactory airspace safeguarding in the interests of air safety. [HLI500]
§ Lord Macdonald of TradestonMy department issued for public consultation on 2 March, in conjunction with the National Assembly for Wales, drafts of a direction and a circular on the official safeguarding of aerodromes and navigation aids in England and Wales. Copies were placed in the Library. The Scottish Executive has begun a parallel consultation. The main proposal is that local planning authorities should be required to consult the officially safeguarded aerodromes or NATS instead of the Civil Aviation Authority. I believe that the individual aerodromes should be better placed than a single central organisation like the CAA to monitor the development of potentially significant proposals, and that the continuing involvement and local knowledge of aerodrome managements should make it easier to reconcile development proposals with the safe operation of the aerodromes.