Lorely Listens 20th March

Written by Lorely Burt and published in Solihull Gaurdian on Mon 20th Mar 2006

Birmingham International Airport has now been officially confirmed as the Midlands airport destined for expansion under the Government's airport expansion plans. 31st March is the deadline for anyone wishing to contribute to the Birmingham Airport consultation on the so-called 'Masterplan'.

Many of you have kindly copied me in on your own submissions, and I'll be making my own which will be posted on my website www.lorelyburt.org.uk. But will BIA take any notice of our submissions? Will the Government take any notice of BIA's?

The litmus test, in my view, would be a change to the compensation policy on blight on the part of BIA. Whole areas are blighted today which are geographically well outside the BIA compensation scheme.

So if BIA widens the compensation scheme to properties blighted today and bring compensation payments forward - currently no one will receive anything until 2009 - I will conclude they have listened.

The blight could be dramatically cut at a stroke, however, if BIA would remove the plan for a second runway from the Masterplan altogether. BIA claim to be unable to take it out because of the Government Aviation White Paper.

The predictions of demand for flights in the White Paper are based on the principle of 'predict and provide': in other words as long as people want to fly we should expand airports to enable them to do this.

I'm all for freedom, but other people deserve freedoms also. Aviation is the fastest growing source of global warming today. Other industries are making huge strides to cut their carbon emissions while aviation emissions grow unfettered and will soon cancel out all the savings other industries are making. The government fiddles to the aviation industry's tune while the atmosphere burns.

7,000 new jobs will be created at BIA by lengthening the existing runway combined with other expansion plans excluding the second runway. This will enable Birmingham to take its place as a world class airport alongside Manchester and Heathrow and will increase economic prosperity in Solihull and the West Midlands.

But who can predict what will be needed, or indeed what the political complexion of Britain will be in 2020? Whoever is in government, I passionately hope they will have woken up to the fact that we are custodians of this planet for a very short time. It's our responsibility to make sure there is a sustainable planet to pass on to our children and our children's children.