Hume Planning Scheme Amendment C154 Panel Hearing 10 December 2012 Statement of Evidence: Town Planning and Airport Planning Prepared by: frent Kneebush Principal Planner and Managing Director Kneebush Planning Pty Ltd Prepared for: Australia Pacific Airports (Melbourne) Pty Ltd (APAM) 23 November 2012 Hume Planning Scheme Amendment C154 Table of Gontents 3 4 6 7 8 Appendices Appendix 1 Curriculum Vitae: Trent Kneebush Appendix 2 Statement of Compliance: Planning Panels Victoria Guide to Expert Evidence Appendix 3 APAM's Submissions Hume Planning Scheme Amendment C154 I lntroduction My name is Trent Kneebush and I am Principal Planner and Managing Director of Kneebush Planning Pty Ltd. I am a qualified town planner and airport planner with 25 years of experience in the planning field. I hold a Masters of Arts in Town Planning and have completed various airport planning courses within Australia and internationally. My CV is attached at Appendix A. I currently provide town planning and airport planning consultancy advice to Australia Pacific Airports (Melbourne) Pty Ltd (APAM) on an ongoing basis. I received oral and written instructions from APAM and Corrs Chambers Westgarth to prepare a statement of evidence on the potential town planning and airport planning impacts of Amendment C154 on Melbourne Airport and APAM interests. Amendment C154 applies to 236 hectares of land located on Mickleham Road, Greenvale. The amendment provides for the development of 2,895 residential lots and approximately 8,000 residents close to Melbourne Airport. The subject land is located approximately 2lkm north-east of the airport. My experience in airport planning and involvement in metropolitan area and regional planning issues over time provides me with the expertise to make this statement. A Statement of Compliance with respect to the Planning Panels Victoria Guide to Expert Evidence is provided in Appendix B. 1.1 Summary of Evidence The development of new residential areas near Melbourne Airport and its flight paths will increase the number of people potentially subjected to aircraft noise, thus exacerbating the reverse sensitivity effects of the airport. This will inevitably lead to increased noise complaints which could prejudice the curfew free status of the airport. Such an outcome would be contrary to the State Planning Policy for Melbourne Airport which includes express strategies which seek to ensure the effective and competitive operation of Melbourne Airport and to ensure that any new use or development does not prejudice the optimum usage of Melbourne Airport including its curfew-free operation. It is generally acknowledged within the airports industry that the Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF) system, which is the basis of the airport's current published noise contours and associated planning controls (ie. the Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay), has a number of limitations. Experience has shown that the aircraft noise problem is not confined to areas inside the ANEF noise contours. Aircraft noise does not stop at a contour line on a map. ln fact most complaints relating to aircraft noise at Australian airports come from people who live outside the published ANEF noise contours (ie. outside the 20 ANEF). It is now generally recognised that basing land use planning decisions solely on ANEF noise contours, without reference to other noise information, is likely to lead to less than optimal land use outcomes for airports and surrounding areas. This is consistent with advice contained in the recently adopted NationalAirports Safeguarding Framework (NASF) particulary Guideline A: Measures for Managing lmpacts of Aircraft Noise. Hume Planning Scheme Amendment C1 54 ln accordance with the requirements of the Airports Act 1996, APAM is currently in the process of preparing the 2013 Master Plan for Melbourne Airport. This will include plans for construction of the airport's third runway. A new ANEF chart, to replace the 2008 ANEF, will also be contained in the new Master Plan. As was the case with previous reviews of the ANEF, it is expected that the 2013 ANEF contours will change when compared to previous ANEF contours. This could involve expansion of the ANEF contours in some places. ln accordance with NASF Guideline A, the 2013 Master Plan will also include N60/N65/N70 noise contours as a supplementary tool for guiding planning decisions around the airport. This type of aircraft noise contour information has never been formally published before for Melbourne Airport. Adopting a precautionary approach, I believe it is premature to be considering rezoning of land near Melbourne Airport and its flight paths until the 2013 Master Plan, including the new ANEF and N60/N65/N70 contours, is approved by the Commonwealth Government. lf the rezoning is to proceed in advance of approval of the Master Plan, I believe the amendment should incorporate appropriate measures to mitigate any potential reverse sensitivity effects associated with Melbourne Airport. Further discussion and justification surrounding these key concerns is provided in Sections 5 and 6 of this statement. Hume Planning Scheme Amendment Cl54 2 Melbourne Airport The following section is drawn from information contained in lhe Melbourne Airpori Master Plan 2008,lhe Melbourne Airport Economic and Social lmpact Assessment 2012 and other data provided by APAM. 2.1 Historical Development The decision to establish Melbourne Airport on the Tullamarine site was made because the site was located close enough to be reasonably accessible to the city, but far enough away from established areas so as to be able to operate without constraint. lndeed, the site was considered to be "one of the best airport sites in the world"1. Melbourne's first major airport at Essendon was already constrained in its operation due to surrounding development, and a new airport site to serve Melbourne was required. Following selection of the site in 1959, construction of the airport began in 1964. This comprised much of the core airport infrastructure we see today, including the two existing runways and the main terminal complex. The airport operated its first scheduled domestic flights in 1970, followed a year later by the first international flight. Since the 1960s it has been envisaged that the airport would ultimately have four runways. For the fust27 years of its operation Melbourne Airport was operated by the Commonwealth Government, including the FederalAirports Corporation (FAC), a government owned business enterprise. The FAC ceased operating the airport in 1997 when the current lease commenced under the Airports Act. On 2 July 1997, APAM became the airport-lessee company for Melbourne Airport, with the responsibility of managing the airport for a 50 year period up to 2047. APAM has an option to further extend this lease by a further 49 years to 2096. Under the lease APAM manages all of the airport site including the airside, terminal and landside precincts and the road network within the site. 2.2 Growth Trends and Forecasts Since 1970 over 505 million passenger trips have started or finished at Melbourne Airport. Passenger traffic has grown at an average rate of 92% per year since 1972. ln the past 14 years the number of passenger trips at Melbourne Airport has doubled from 14.2 million to 28,3 million. ln the 10 years from 2002to 2012 passenger trips at Melbourne Airport grew at an average rate of 5.4o/o pü year. ln the same 10 year period aircraft movements grew at an average rate of 1.1%o per year. Melbourne Airport currently facilitates the movement of over 28 million passengers and 21 0,000 aircraft movements annually. Over the next 20 years the number of passengers travelling through the airport is expected to grow to 64 million. Aircraft movements are expected to increase to 348,000 in 2033. I Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 8/1 1/1962 , page 2223 per Mr Jess (LaTrobe). Hume Planning Scheme Amendment C154 2.3 Economic and Soc¡al Benefits Over 7.9 million visitors come to Victoria via Melbourne Airport each year, who subsequently spend approx¡mately $g.g billion via tourism expenditure which is nearly half of all tourism expenditure in Victoria annually. Each international aircraft landing at Melbourne Airport contributes approximately $240,000 to visitor spending in Victoria. ln addition to the passenger movements, freight is also a significant element of Melbourne Airport's activities with the facilitation of approximately 250,000 tonnes of freight moved annually, which is more than a quarter of freight facilitated by all Australian airports combined. This is expected to grow to over 390,000 tonnes over the next 20 years. To enable lhe 24 hour operation of the airport and the efficient movement of passengers and freight, there are currently 14,300 jobs based at Melbourne Airport. The number of jobs directly generated by the airport is expected to grow to 23,000 by 2033. Melbourne Airport indirectly supports 43,000 jobs, which is expected to increase to 72,000 indirect jobs in 20 years. Melbourne Airport's current contribution to Victoria's Gross State Product is estimated to be approximately $1.47 billion. This is expected to increase to $3.21 billion in 2033. At present the curfew-free status of Melbourne Airport allows for the movement of an extra 2 million passengers a year and adds $590 million to the Victorian economy through visitor spending. By 2033 the value of the curfew-free status will increase to an additional 5 million passengers a yeæ and visitor spending totalling $1.3 billion. 98% of local residents surveyed as part of the Economic and Social lmpact Assessment see Melbourne Airport as an important factor in connecting Melbourne with other cities. 2.4 Airport Master Plans During the 1980's it was recognised there would be a need to expand Melbourne Airport. However, future runway locations as shown in the 1960s Master Plan were no longer appropriate due to environmental considerations and the Master Plan existing at that time provided for only limited landside development opportunities.