What follows is my letter to Uttlesford District Council urging them to reject BAA's planned expansion of Stansted airport:
Sir;
In 2002, Uttlesford District Council held a referendum on the Government’s plans for more runways at Stansted Airport, and 89% of the respondents said no. In 2006, the BAA planned to increase the annual maximum number of passengers by 10 million, but those plans were also rejected by Uttlesford. These are just two examples of your Council’s excellent commitment not only to your own district’s concerns, but also to curbing the broader, devastating effects that such expansions would have on the environment. And now I understand that a decision to treble the capacity of the airport is to be considered by the Council.
I would like to compliment the District Council on its outstanding efforts so far. You are in a position to play a leading role in challenging one of the most significant threats to the environment that we currently face and at each instance you have acted with a sense of responsibility and rationality that I truly hope you shall continue to adopt in the future.
Having read over some of the schemes that the BAA is offering in order to (supposedly) compensate homeowners around the Stansted area for the inevitable fall in house prices as well as the loss of homes that the expansion will require, there is a worry that these measures will make the Council more disposed to accept the current plans. However, rather than arguing against such an attitude, I have a great deal of faith in the good sense with which the Council has reacted to such plans in the past, and I wish only to support them in continuing to think about the bigger picture when it comes to making a decision next month.
Uttlesford District Council has set an example that the rest of the country would be wise to follow, and it would be disheartening, as well as hugely damaging, if you were to give in to the BAA in June. I would urge you to continue to face this issue with resolute objection to any plan that will so diversely affect not only your own district, but also the well being of everyone else as we face the catastrophic changes brought about by our ongoing pollution of the environment.
Yours faithfully,
Cllr. Rupert Read
(Eastern Region Green Party lead candidate in 2009 Euro-elections)
Sir;
In 2002, Uttlesford District Council held a referendum on the Government’s plans for more runways at Stansted Airport, and 89% of the respondents said no. In 2006, the BAA planned to increase the annual maximum number of passengers by 10 million, but those plans were also rejected by Uttlesford. These are just two examples of your Council’s excellent commitment not only to your own district’s concerns, but also to curbing the broader, devastating effects that such expansions would have on the environment. And now I understand that a decision to treble the capacity of the airport is to be considered by the Council.
I would like to compliment the District Council on its outstanding efforts so far. You are in a position to play a leading role in challenging one of the most significant threats to the environment that we currently face and at each instance you have acted with a sense of responsibility and rationality that I truly hope you shall continue to adopt in the future.
Having read over some of the schemes that the BAA is offering in order to (supposedly) compensate homeowners around the Stansted area for the inevitable fall in house prices as well as the loss of homes that the expansion will require, there is a worry that these measures will make the Council more disposed to accept the current plans. However, rather than arguing against such an attitude, I have a great deal of faith in the good sense with which the Council has reacted to such plans in the past, and I wish only to support them in continuing to think about the bigger picture when it comes to making a decision next month.
Uttlesford District Council has set an example that the rest of the country would be wise to follow, and it would be disheartening, as well as hugely damaging, if you were to give in to the BAA in June. I would urge you to continue to face this issue with resolute objection to any plan that will so diversely affect not only your own district, but also the well being of everyone else as we face the catastrophic changes brought about by our ongoing pollution of the environment.
Yours faithfully,
Cllr. Rupert Read
(Eastern Region Green Party lead candidate in 2009 Euro-elections)
Comments