An Open Letter to Manchester City Council
Article published: Friday, March 12th 2010
The editorial entitled “It’s time for a new debate on the airport” published in the Manchester Evening News, 8 March, was in response to the government report which predicts that growth at Manchester Airport will take us to 449,000 flights a year, or one every 70 seconds. Manchester Green Party agree that we urgently need this debate and to get the ball rolling we pose five questions to our Council leaders in an open letter. 
1. It is physically impossible to raise Manchester Airport’s capacity to 449,000 annual take-offs and landings without a new runway (the current maximum capacity stands at 276,000). When the current agreement not to construct a new runway expires in 2011 will the Council apply for planning permission to build a third runway?
2. When and how are the Council going to consult communities such as Knutsford, Stockport, Mobberley, Ashley and Hale Barns, whose quality of life will be directly impacted by such massive expansion?
3. Sir Richard Leese has been lobbying hard for the proposed (highly destructive) high-speed rail link between the North West and the South. Is this proposal designed merely to facilitate increased passenger flight numbers out of Manchester by attracting customers from the South East?
4. The likely place for much of this expansion would be on the Airport’s ‘proposed operational areas’. This would be hugely destructive to prime Cheshire greenbelt, taking in the Cotterill Clough ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest’ and the Bollin Valley ‘Site of Biological Importance’. 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity, so how can the Council justify the destruction of biodiverse greenbelt and protected habitats to make way for the Airport’s expansion?
5. We know the Council sees airport expansion as a driver for Manchester’s economic growth and employment opportunities, but it will also drastically increase CO2 emissions at a time when the Council has pledged to cut emissions across the City. Does the Council plan to create ANY truly green jobs in the renewable technology sector, for example by using the knowledge and skills base we have at the University? Or will we miss this opportunity forever, and instead sit back in future years vainly admiring our glorious new airport as the climate collapses?
James Alden, Green Party
Nigel Woodcock, Chair.
More: QuickKick
Comments
No comments found
The comments are closed.
