East Midlands Airport expansion plans - the eight-year wait goes on

JUDGEMENT day was supposed to come this month for East Midlands Airport, when it expected to find out – after an eight-and-a-half-year wait – if it could carry out its much-vaunted runway extension.

But the planning application disappeared from the latest North West Leicestershire District Council's planning committee agenda.

The application to increase the runway by 190m was first submitted in September 2000.

Steve Bambrick, head of environment at the council, explained the reasons for the lengthy delay.

He said: "We did target a particular date in March but we decided we were not in a position to recommend a decision.

"Clearly it's a contentious application – by their nature they inevitably take longer to deal with, but not every one takes so many years."

Mr Bambrick said a decision was initially put back for more information to be provided by the airport. Once that information was received, the council had to carry out another public consultation.

"The collation of information takes time, the series of reconsultation exercises take time."

He said a decision should be made within the next few months.

After the latest blow, an airport spokesman said: "It is now eight-and-a-half years since the application was originally submitted.

"We believe the council has all the information necessary to enable it to reach a decision."

Airport bosses maintain that although the work would allow cargo planes to take off with bigger loads, it would not mean larger aircraft or lead to an increase in air traffic.

The main feature of the application is to extend the runway primarily to the west, creating less noise for people at the eastern end of the runway, particularly in Kegworth, as the planes land further away.

And the overarching benefit of the plans would see more freight – and more passengers – being accommodated on planes, as they would be able to carry more weight. This would allow firms like DHL, which has a base at the airport, to transport more goods.

Neil Robinson, the airport's environmental manager, said residents would not notice a noise change.

In fact, he referred to a study that said the expansion would actually reduce the level of noise from the majority of landing aircraft for residents living close to the Castle Donington site.

That is because planes would be able to approach the runway at higher altitudes over the village of Kegworth, therefore making them quieter from the ground.

"The proposed extension to the runway would allow larger aircraft to depart at slightly heavier take-off weights," said Mr Robinson.

"The extension is not required for arriving aircraft as the airport's current runway provides adequate landing distance.

"However, it will allow the majority of aircraft to land further down the runway, increasing the height of aircraft descending over Kegworth."

Noise from 80% of aircraft would be reduced by 2016, while noise would increase from 2.8% of planes due to the extra weight they would be carrying. The rest would stay the same. Fresh environmental statements to support the application were sent to the council in 2004 and again in May last year.

Mr Robinson said: "East Midlands Airport recognises that aircraft operations, particularly at night, have an impact on the local community," he said.

"We take our responsibilities to them very seriously."

But his words have not appeased anti-expansion campaigners.

Isley Walton Parish Council and Kegworth Parish Council have spoken out against the latest plans.

They say noise levels in homes near to the airport are already intolerable, with houses vibrating and windows rattling. It is feared another extension would make the problem worse.

Their views have been echoed by Steve Charlish, of Demand East Midlands Airport is Now Designated, a campaign group which wants the Government to control the airport.

"We believe that the runway extension will bring larger and noisier aircraft to the site," he said.

Dorothy Skrytek, from the Derby and South Derbyshire Friends of the Earth group, is against it too.

She said: "A runway extension will cause more noise and extra pollution in the form of nitrogen dioxide and climate-changing gases, so what is the point of so-called environmental policies in the regional strategy?"