§ Mr. Keith BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation meetings have been held in the Manchester area regarding the future development of air transport in the UK; and which(a) organisations, (b) hon. Members and (c) other people were invited to the meetings. [77081]
§ Mr. Spellar[holding answer 28 October 2002]: A public exhibition on the potential impacts of growth at Manchester airport was held on 14 October in Knutsford. The exhibition was open to anyone who wished to attend and was publicised in the local press and on the local radio stations. In conjunction with this, a number of key people from the areas most likely to be directly impacted by growth at Manchester were invited to a breakfast briefing. The invitees included the relevant MPs from the immediate area, MEPs, Council Leaders, local authority Chief Executives, Chairs of the Planning and Transport Committees and Chamber of Commerce Chief Executives. A further public exhibition will be held on 15 November at The Village, Cheadle.
780WIn addition, officials from this Department and the Government Office for the north-west have met with the Manchester Airport Air Transport Forum and the Manchester Users' Consultative Committee. They are also participating in a number of topic workshops for both the north-west region specifically and the North of England as a whole, to which a wide range of stakeholder groups have been invited. These include representatives from, inter alia, airports, airlines, local authorities, transport providers (such as the Highways Agency, Railtrack etc.) local business fora, regional and national environmental groups.