§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what environmental impact assessments were conducted at Akrotiri prior to antenna construction. [69646]
§ Mr. IngramAn assessment of the likely environmental impact of the project to build new antennas at Akrotiri was undertaken by a firm of consultants in 1997 and its results were reviewed by the company in 2001.
Last year the British and Cypriot Governments agreed that these environmental impact assessments should be reviewed by an independent panel of international environmental experts. This review was co-ordinated by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. The panel found that there were significant deficiencies in the original assessments, when judged against today's best practice standards and that there was not sufficient information on which to base a decision to proceed with the second phase of the project. The Ministry of Defence therefore commissioned further studies to fill the information gaps identified by the panel and to address their criticisms of the approach to mitigating the potential environmental impact. The panel confirmed in May that this additional work satisfactorily addressed the deficiencies in the original assessments.