STANSTED AIRPORT: Inquiry into airport expansion ends

3:21pm Friday 19th October 2007

SIXTEEN weeks of public inquiry into the proposed expansion of Stansted Airport ended today, with airport bosses and anti-expansion campaigners both claiming victory.

The inquiry, which began in May, called witnesses including 22 parish council representatives, specialist interest groups and MPs, to give evidence on BAA's bid to increase the current runway capacity to 35 million passengers and 264,000 commercial flights a year.

While BAA insist they have provided conclusive evidence of the substanstial benefits of expansion, anti campaining group Stop Stansted Expansion branded BAA's case as 'in tatters'.

SSE Chairman Peter Sanders said: "BAA have failed to prove that the expansion would not harm local people.

"This should not be a surprise because, if approved,it would be the equivalent in terms of scale of operation to adding Birmingham Airport on top of the Stansted Airport that we have today."

He added that BAA had not defended their claims that the expansion would benefit the country financially, and did not call a single witness to argue the economic case for its proposal.

However, in its final submission today, BAA claimed that the expansion would provide some 3,800 more jobs locally, as well as bringing vast sums of money into the local economy.

Stansted business development and planning director Nick Barton said: "We know that success would bring benefits to those many millions of people who want to travel around the world on business and leisure trips."

He added: "In the past five months we have demonstrated very clearly we can deliver that success in a sustainable and responsible way.

"We remain very confident of the strong and compelling case we have made."

Lead inspector of the inquiry Alan Boyland is expected to make his recommendations to Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Hazel Blears and Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly, in December.

- A second inquiry is due to begin in the new year into the application for a second runway.

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