HC Deb 17 December 2002 vol 396 cc695-6W
17. Mr. Andrew Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact on Sutton Coldfield of the proposed airport expansion at(a) Birmingham airport and (b) Rugby. [85917]

Mr. Jamieson

The potential impacts of Midlands' airport development options have been assessed against a range of local and national indicators, including economic benefits and environmental costs.

In general terms, development at Birmingham airport may result in increased aircraft noise for Sutton Coldfield, but could also generate additional jobs. The Rugby option assumes the closure of Birmingham, so the converse is likely to be true.