Alconbury Airfield (Hansard, 21 October 2002)

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the forecast regularity of flights is in(a) 2015 and (b) 2030 in connection with the proposals relating to Alconbury airfield contained in the Department's Consultation, The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East). [74830]

§ Mr. Jamieson
The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East) main consultation document is seeking views on a range of options, one of which is a small-scale airport development at Alconbury. Chapters 12 and 15 of the Stage Two appraisal findings report presents the findings relevant to Alconbury for both passenger and freight movements.
This indicates that, in a scenario where no additional runway capacity is provided at major airports in the region, Alconbury is forecast to handle nearly 70,000 passenger air transport movements (PATMs) and 11,000 freight ATMs in 2015. This rises to just over 70,000 PATMs and 30,000 freight ATMs in 2030.
If additional runway capacity is provided at major airports in the south east, both passenger and freight forecasts indicate that only around one-fifth of this traffic will be attracted to Alconbury.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the consultation findings are to be made public so far as they relate to Alconbury airfield; what further procedures and consultation will take place; and when. [74829]

§ Mr. Jamieson
The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East) main consultation document sets out the process relating to 8W the disclosure of responses (Annex G, page 172). Responses to this consultation will inform Minister's decisions on the policies to be included in the air transport White \Paper, which we plan to publish next year.
If the White Paper favours the Alconbury option, it would then be for a promoter to work up the detailed development plans, discuss these with affected parties and apply for planning permission through the normal land use planning system.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what areas and how many people will be exposed to different amounts of aircraft noise(a) at night in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2030 and (b) in 2030 based on an average six hour day in connection with the proposals relating to Alconbury airfield contained in the Department's Consultation, The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East). [74822]

§ Mr. Jamieson
The South East and East of England Regional Air Services study (SERAS) analysis included illustrative examples of night-time noise footprints for all airport options. The approach adopted is set out in paragraph 6.9.4 of the SERAS stage two appraisal findings report and the results of this work, relevant to the Alconbury option, are presented in paragraphs 12.8.3 and 12.8.4.
These indicate that, using the 90dBA SEL (sound exposure level) footprint for the noisiest aircraft envisaged operating at night, between 300 and 10,600 people might be contained within the footprint—subject to airport operation.
The numbers of people affected with this option by different amounts of aircraft noise (daytime) was not assessed at 2030.
Copies of the above report are available in the House libraries.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what extent local residents will be entitled to compensation; what the qualifications or compensation will be; how the level of compensation will be assessed; and who will pay such compensation in connection with the proposals relating to Alconbury airfield contained in the Department's Consultation,The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East). [74836]

§ Mr. Jamieson
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (Mr. McDonnell) on 15 October 2002,Official Report, columns 721W-22W.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what types of aeroplanes will be capable of using the proposed airport at Alconbury. [74826]

§ Mr. Jamieson
With a runway length of over 2,700 metres aircraft up to Boeing 747 size could use Alconbury (but not at maximum loads).
The option of a small-scale development at Alconbury, presented in The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East) consultation document, allows for the use of a typical aircraft of the Boeing 737–700 type.
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§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the passenger terminal at Alconbury airfield will be built to accommodate the maximum capacity of five million passengers from the outset of operation. [74825]

§ Mr. Jamieson
The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East) main consultation document is seeking views on a range of options, one of which is a small-scale airport development at Alconbury. Responses to this consultation will inform Minister's decisions on the policies to be published in the air transport White Paper.
If the White Paper favours the Alconbury option, the level of development and how it would be phased would depend on the commercial judgement of the proposer/ developer of the airport.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what impact the ADL Planning Inspectorate report will have on the proposals relating to Alconbury airfield contained in the Department's Consultation,The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East). [74833]

§ Mr. Jamieson
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 October 2002,Official Report, column 721W.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to review theCHUMMS proposals with regard to airport traffic (a) in connection with Huntingdon to Cambridge public transport and (b) in connection with proposed changes to the A14; and what estimate he has made of the increase in use of the A1 in connection with the proposals relating to Alconbury airfield contained in the Department's Consultation, The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East). [74832]

§ Mr. Jamieson
There are no plans at present to review the findings of the Cambridge to Huntingdon Multi-Modal study (CHUMMS) in the light of the public consultations that are currently taking place with respect to the South East and East of England Regional Air Services study (SERAS). The consultation is seeking views on a range of airport development options in the South East and East of England, one of which is a small-scale airport development at Alconbury. It would be inappropriate at this stage to review the findings of CHUMMS with respect to all these options. If Alconbury is supported in the Air Transport White Paper, the implications will then have to be considered by the Regional Planning Body.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many jobs are forecast(a) by 2011 and (b) by 2012 in connection with the proposals relating to Alconbury airfield contained in the Department's Consultation, The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East). [74823]

§ Mr. Jamieson
The South East and East of England Regional Air Services study (SERAS) identified, in broad terms and for all options, the employment that might be generated. A summary of the employment methodology used is outlined in theSERAS stage two appraisal findings report (section 6.11).
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The results of this appraisal, relevant to the Alconbury option, are shown in section 12.10 of the SERAS stage two appraisal findings report. This indicates that around 12,000 direct jobs might be associated with Alconbury, based on 5 million passengers per annum (mppa) and around 1 million tonnes of freight in 2015.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the probability of water flooding in connection with the proposals relating to Alconbury airfield contained in the Department's Consultation, The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East; and what contingency plans he will put in place to deal with this. [74831]

§ Mr. Jamieson
A summary of the appraisal methodology regarding the water environment is outlined in theSERAS stage two appraisal findings report (section 6.8). The results of this appraisal, relevant to the Alconbury option, are summarised in paragraphs 12.7.1 and 12.7.2 of the same document. Copies of this report are available in the House libraries. The report notes that the airfield footprint does not coincide with the 1 in 100 year flood plain.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Government's policy is on permitting an airport to proceed on the basis of(a) only passenger flights but no freight flights and (b) only freight flights and no passenger flights in connection with the proposals relating to Alconbury airfield contained in the Department's Consultation, The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East. [74824]

§ Mr. Jamieson
The consultation onthe Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East) includes the option for a small-scale development of Alconbury as a possible new airport to provide a mixture of dedicated air freight, express parcel handling, third party maintenance, and low cost passenger operations. We are not consulting on any other options for Alconbury airfield, but we will, of course, consider all responses we receive.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what extent the completion of the proposals relating to Alconbury airfield contained in the Department's Consultation, The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East, is reliant on the expansion of existing airports. [74828]

§ Mr. Jamieson
The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East) main consultation document is seeking views on a range of options, one of which is a small-scale airport development at Alconbury.
As the document makes clear (chapter 12), the precise future role of the other south-east airports depends on two main factors; firstly the amount and timing of any future capacity provided at the main airports and elsewhere and secondly, the commercial choices made by passengers and airlines. Paragraph 12.23 indicates the forecast use of the Alconbury option under scenarios where runways are provided at major airports in the region and where they are not.
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Responses to this consultation will inform Minister's decisions on the policies to be published in the air transport White Paper.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what indication of interest the Government have received from(a) (i) air passenger companies and (ii) freight carriers to use and (b) airport operating companies to operate Alconbury airport. [74835]

§ Mr. Jamieson
The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East) is seeking views from all interested parties, including passenger and freight airlines and airport operators, on a range of options, one of which is a small-scale development at Alconbury.
If this option is supported in the air transport White Paper, it would then be for a promoter to submit detailed proposals through the land use planning system.