Southampton Airport's runway extension debate goes on

The debate on plans to lengthen Southampton Airport's runway is set to continue into a second day after 14 hours of deliberations.

Eastleigh councillors adjourned their meeting on whether to approve an extension of 164m (538ft) at midnight on Thursday.

Airport bosses said it was "vital" for the site's future but campaigners and some local authorities have raised major objections.

The meeting will resume at 18:00 GMT.

Dozens of people including residents, councillors, businesses and representative of Southampton Airport aired their views on the scheme during the virtual meeting of the Eastleigh Local Area Committee, which started at 10:00 and finished at midnight.

The airport insists its survival depends on being allowed to extend the runway to accommodate planes such as the Airbus 320 and Boeing 737.

The plans - which council planning officers have recommended for approval - include 600 extra parking spaces in the long-stay car park and a blast screen built to the north of the proposed runway extension.

The airport maintains the expansion would result in £15m worth of investment and more than 1,000 jobs.

The meeting heard the number of people affected by airport noise would go up from 11,450 in 2020 to 46,050 in 2033, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Local authorities, including Southampton and Winchester city councils, Test Valley Borough Council, four parish councils, as well as Bournemouth Airport, Southern Gas Networks and Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership, all objected to the plans on the grounds of noise and climate change.

When the meeting was adjourned, three councillors of the eight on the committee had given their views, with two opposing and one in favour of the plans.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-56534522

 

I can't get over the need for such a lenghthy debate. The runway extension length planned for Southampton is about as far as my 8 year old can kick a ball with his left foot. Its pathetic really.

 

Yes, now looking at written comments, but it will continue tomorrow at 6pm when Southampton Airport will make their statement.

It's incredible really that they have spent over 27 hours now on this, yet it's likely that councillors will vote as they wish (probably against) and will have little regard for the huge number of comments they have listened to, none of which are very original and all of which seem to apply at every similar airport related debate.

Two on line polls by the Daily Echo have resulted in a huge majority in favour, but will councillors take any notice? At least one, Cllr Paul Holmes has done his best to promote this, even securing over 3000 signatures on a pro airport petition he set up. Can't imagine any of our Leeds councillors doing anything like that!

I have to say however that some if the opposition comments were bordering on ludicrous, claiming this will result in mental health issues, hearing issues, and various other ailments.

I agree that most councillors will have made up their mind before listening to any of the arguments. It's the same everywhere. That's why I'm strongly of the belief that important planning applications, especially those that are of regional significance, should go straight to the national Planning Inspectorate where professional planning officers will make the decision free of any local pressures or personal bias.

The same happened with Bristol Airport where a YouGov poll showed 70% in favour of the expansion there.

 

Funny old world.

People express their opinion in favour of something and our elected representatives with little or no qualifications or little understanding of the subject can ignore the wishes of the public not to mention the factual reports by professional planning officers who will have studied the subject in detail.

 

And still it goes on. Unbelievably, some Councillors are again pushing for the debate to be deferred. This lot make Leeds City Council look professional! One wanted to know how the airport would control dust!! What???

 

And still it goes on. Unbelievably, some Councillors are again pushing for the debate to be deferred. This lot make Leeds City Council look professional! One wanted to know how the airport would control dust!! What???

And these are the people entrusted with making decisions on behalf of the public. Then again, the local electorate voted for them so in that sense the locals reap what they sow, except that as with BRS it's a small council making the decision for the wider region.

 

At 2350, finally, they are now entering the debate stage. All 38 Councillors get to speak for 5 minutes. (supposedly). Then a vote.

The Daily Echo reckons it will be done by 0200. My limited maths ability tells me different as it will take 190 minutes to get through the 38 Councillors, so that's 3 hours 10 minutes. Which means 0300 unless a good few opt not to speak. Then there's the vote.

You would.be forgiven for thinking this was a major expansion rather than a 160mtr runway extension resulting in an extra 2m pax per year max.

 

APPROVED: Southampton Airport runway plans are given green-light

PLANS to expand the runway at Southampton Airport have been approved.

www.dailyecho.co.uk

 

Airport has been capped at 3 million passengers now as a result of the runway extension.

 

They giveth with one hand and taketh with the other.

 

They giveth with one hand and taketh with the other.

To be fair 3mppa is almost a 70% increase on 2019 levels (before Flybe went bust).

Based on current number of passengers per movement, I'd make that be an increase from roughly 7 flights per hour to 11.

There's presumably nothing to stop them from applying to increase the passenger cap in 10 years say?

 

Great news for Southampton Airport, and a second positive outcome in a month after the approval at Leeds. Particularly so given the Lib Dem make up of the Council., a party that opposes airport development and which campaigned against LBAs new terminal.

Let's hope that unlike LBA, Robert Jenrick doesn't get involved with the threat of a Public Inquiry. It's going to be interesting. He will struggle to justify allowing one to proceed and not the other, so hopefully it's good news for both.

Anyway, congratulations to Southampton Airport from Leeds!

 

There's presumably nothing to stop them from applying to increase the passenger cap in 10 years say?

Nothing at all. Stansted and Bristol airports are currently doing so. They have annual passenger number caps and had their applications for increases rejected by their respective local authority planning committees, with both airports now going through the appeal process via the national Planning Inspectorate.

 

Great news all round I'd say! Clean Air Southampton on Facebook is claiming that the economic case wasn't made and that there will be no benefit, just more air pollution, thus ignoring wider environmental issues.

As far as I know, aeroplanes can take biofuel, as at the Bahrain GP, the flypast was done in an aircraft with biofuel in, as Vettel raised environmental issues in regards to flypasts...

Gulf Air delivers Lower Emission Fly-past at Bahrain Grand Prix | Formula One World Championship Limited

Formula 1 is pleased to confirm that at the start of this weekend’s Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2021 that Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain delivered a lower emission flypast its flagship Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner using second generation biofuel provided by aviatio ...

corp.formula1.com

Gulf Air complete low-emission fly past ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix | Formula 1®

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain and sponsor of the Bahrain Grand Prix, completed a low-emission fly past ahead of the race on Sunday evening at the Bahrain International Circuit.

www.formula1.com

Sebastian Vettel complaint forced change in pre-race flypast | PlanetF1

While Sebastian Vettel did not make much of a difference on the track in Bahrain, he at least made a nice difference away from it.

www.planetf1.com

 

Southampton Airport: Paul Holmes MP reveals death threat

The Conservative MP for Eastleigh says he wants to "name and shame" such threats.

www.bbc.co.uk

Utterly shameful

 

Reported in another forum that a High Court judge has rejected two judicial reviews aimed at questioning the process that led to the local authority approving the airport's runway extension application. I've not been able to confirm this as yet.

 

Reported in another forum that a High Court judge has rejected two judicial reviews aimed at questioning the process that led to the local authority approving the airport's runway extension application. I've not been able to confirm this as yet.

It’s good that the HC see through their lies. It’s not going to be another Heathrow now is it?

 

Reported in another forum that a High Court judge has rejected two judicial reviews aimed at questioning the process that led to the local authority approving the airport's runway extension application. I've not been able to confirm this as yet.

Its appears to be official and published on line, so great news for SOU, and potentially LBA too as the opposition down there quoted identical reasons for seeking the review as their Northern buddies did here in opposition to LBAs new carbon neutral terminal.

Up here they haven't requested a review yet as the terminal approval appears to be lost somewhere at the bottom of Michael Gove's in tray, where it has been for some 6 months now, (although to be fair to him, it was already down there under his predecessor, Robert Jenrick)!

 

Judicial reviews are often the last resort for desperate objectors as they only challenge the way a decision was arrived at, not the merits of the decision itself.

The High Court cannot prevent the planning authority from revisiting the application and coming to the same decision but in a way that the court considers lawful.

 

Following the recent refusal of a Judicial Review after applications by GOESA ( who are claimed environmentalists, presumably with links to ER) and Bournemouth Airport, both parties had 7 days to appeal and further delay the runway extension.
Bournemouth Airport have not appealed. Predictably, GOESA are appealing the decision and doing all they can to delay the project further. If they lose again, I really think that they should be hit with some seriously big costs to pay.

 

They should pay for wasting the Court's time.