House of Commons Transport Committee Aviation Strategy First Report of Session 2013–14 Volume III Additional written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be published 8 May 2013 Published on 10 May 2013 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited The Transport Committee The Transport Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Transport and its Associate Public Bodies. Current membership Mrs Louise Ellman (Labour/Co-operative, Liverpool Riverside) (Chair) Steve Baker (Conservative, Wycombe) Sarah Champion (Labour, Rotherham) Jim Dobbin (Labour/Co-operative, Heywood and Middleton) Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative, Spelthorne) Karen Lumley (Conservative, Redditch) Karl McCartney (Conservative, Lincoln) Lucy Powell (Labour/Co-operative, Manchester Central) Mr Adrian Sanders (Liberal Democrat, Torbay) Iain Stewart (Conservative, Milton Keynes South) Graham Stringer (Labour, Blackley and Broughton) The following were also members of the committee during the Parliament. Angie Bray (Conservative, Ealing Central and Acton), Lilian Greenwood (Labour, Nottingham South), Mr Tom Harris (Labour, Glasgow South), Julie Hilling (Labour, Bolton West), Kelvin Hopkins (Labour, Luton North), Mr John Leech (Liberal Democrat, Manchester Withington) Paul Maynard, (Conservative, Blackpool North and Cleveleys), Gavin Shuker (Labour/Co-operative, Luton South), Angela Smith (Labour, Penistone and Stocksbridge), Julian Sturdy (Conservative, York Outer) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at http://www.parliament.uk/transcom. A list of Reports of the Committee in the present Parliament is at the back of this volume. The Reports of the Committee, the formal minutes relating to that report, oral evidence taken and some or all written evidence are available in a printed volume. Additional written evidence may be published on the internet only. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Mark Egan (Clerk), Farrah Bhatti (Second Clerk), Richard Jeremy (Committee Specialist), Helen Agnew (Senior Committee Assistant), Adrian Hitchins (Committee Assistant), Stewart Mcilvenna (Committee Support Assistant) and Hannah Pearce (Media Officer) Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Transport Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6263; the Committee’s email address is [email protected] List of additional written evidence 1 Elizabeth M. Balsom AS 01 2 Mr Ken McDonald AS 02 3 Mr Philip Greswell AS 03 4 Howard and Diane Turner AS 04 5 London Medway Airport Group AS 05 6 Peter McManners Ev 06 7 No Estuary Airport campaign AS 07 8 Dr Patrick Hogan AS 09 9 Royal Aeronautical Society AS 11 10 Mrs Caroline Tayler, Mrs Jane Vogt and Mr Stuart McLachlan AS 12 11 Professor David Metz and Dr Anne Graham AS 13 12 Belfast City Airport Watch AS 14 13 Mr Basil Hutton AS 17 14 Peter Tomlinson, Iosis Associates, Bristol AS 18 15 Mr Francis Joseph McGlade AS 19 16 Dr. Peter W. Skelton AS 21 17 Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK AS 23 18 Dr William D Lowe AS 24 19 Mr John G Miller AS 27 20 West Windsor Residents Association AS 28 21 Bluespace Thinking Ltd AS 29 22 Rothwell Aviation Ltd AS 30 23 Save Filton Airfield Campaign Group AS 31 24 Mr Joe Watson AS 32 25 Aviation Foundation AS 33 26 Vanderlande Industries UK Ltd AS 34 27 Zac Goldsmith MP AS 35 28 Assurity Consulting AS 36 29 Marilyn Fletcher B.Sc.Ph.D. AS 37 30 IATA AS 40 31 Tim Gresty, Cognitio AS 41 32 Crawley Borough Council AS 43 33 Lagan Valley Group Residents’ Association AS 45 34 London Chamber of Commerce and Industry AS 46 35 Merseytravel AS 47 36 GATCOM AS 49 37 A Fair Tax on Flying Campaign AS 50 38 Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership AS 52 39 HS2 AS 54 40 Mr Paul Pitcher AS 56 41 British Airline Pilots' Association AS 58: AS 58A 42 Debbie Bryce AS 62 43 Unite AS 64 44 NECTAR AS 65 45 Royal Town Planning Institute AS 70 46 ADS AS 74 47 Richmond Heathrow Campaign AS 76 48 NetJets Europe AS 77 49 SPAA AS 78 50 Heathrow Hub Ltd AS 80 51 Chiltern Countryside Group AS 82 52 The Authorities' Aircraft Noise Council AS 83 53 UK Airport Consultative Committees Liaison Group AS 85 54 North Kent Marshes AS 88 55 Adams Group AS 93 56 Flybe AS 94 57 Wildlife Trusts AS 95 58 Government of Guernsey AS 96 59 Mr Terence Hughes AS 97 60 Campaign to Protect Rural England, Kent Branch AS 99 61 States of Jersey Economic Development Department AS 100 62 Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire All Party Parliamentary Group AS 102 63 Marinair, the Thames Estuary Airport Company Limited AS 103 64 Institution of Mechanical Engineers AS 106 65 Aberdeen Airport Consultative Committee AS 108 66 Greenpeace AS 109 67 UK Travel Retail Forum AS 112 68 The London Assembly AS 113 69 Interlinking Transit Solutions Ltd AS 115 70 Dr. Mayer Hillman AS 117 71 Why Not Manston? AS 118 72 Southend on Sea Borough Council AS 119 73 Lydd Airport Action Group AS 120 74 The Air League AS 121 75 Testrad AS 123 76 London Ashford Airport Ltd (lydd airport) AS 124 77 Mr S H Ashurst AS 125 cobber Pack: U PL: CWE1 [SO] Processed: [24-05-2013 13:10] Job: 028863 Unit: PG01 Transport Committee: Evidence Ev w1 Written evidence Written evidence from Elizabeth M. Balsom (AS 01) HEATHROW AIRPORT I have just watched your video on the Parliamentary website, and am writing to you as Chairwoman of the Transport Select Committee because more flights to Heathrow are back on the political agenda. Noisy, well- remunerated advocates suggest that an additional 60,000 flights a year could access this ill-sited airport via mixed-mode, despite the cataclysmic effect this would have on the lives of those of us under the flight path. I am writing to you in the hope of bringing home to decision makers just what it is like to live with unrelenting aircraft noise. I feel I am paying for the mistake I made in coming here 31 years ago, when planes were not the disturbance they are now. I would leave, but I have made a life here, and I have nowhere to go. I take the strongest exception to those expansionists whose attitude to me is: Tough put up and shut up. 1. Committee Membership It is disappointing and regrettable, indeed it is shameful, given the destructive impact of aircraft noise, that Parliament’s committee on this subject has no members whose constituents’ lives are blighted by aircraft noise. Please can you explain why this is? No doubt you know that people in Putney are troubled and confused at the treatment of Justine Greening, a decent, hard-working MP who is widely liked and respected, and whose efforts to protect us from the hell of yet more aircraft noise are valued by us, yet seem destined to be ignored. I have found media reports of briefings against her distressing. Furthermore, the “money talks” modus operandi and mentality which now permeates every pore of our society is alarming and depressing, breeding cynicism and distrust in the political process and public life. I well remember that during the Labour government’s consultation on the third runway, week after week on the Westminster House, Tom Harris, a member of your committee, would appear to proclaim that a third runway was essential for his Glasgow constituents. Why should a Scottish MP tell people under the Heathrow flight path that we must put up with even more aircraft noise for his constituents? If he’s so potty about planes, what’s wrong with Prestwick? Friends who lived opposite me moved to Sunbury in Spelthorne constituency five years ago, partly to be nearer their daughter, but principally because they could no longer bear aircraft noise in Putney. Because of the flight patterns, Spelthorne, although near the airport, does not suffer as we do, as committee member Kwasi Kwarteng, a vocal promoter of expansion, is surely aware. I was shocked by his comments in the Evening Standard, July 9, and am grateful to the Standard for allowing me the opportunity to respond. I noted Mr Kwarteng’s comments that people should be paid £500,000 to get out of their homes, so a third, fourth and heaven knows how many runways could be built at Heathrow. This sort of attitude is beyond the pale. Perhaps Mr Kwarteng can come up with a figure for compensating those of us whose lives are blighted by aircraft noise. I am serious when I suggest £1,000 a week. After all, when everyone else is on the make, getting something for nothing, why shouldn’t I get something for something: putting up with aircraft noise. 2. Advocates of Expansion We are entitled to ask just who are the people clamouring for more flights to Heathrow and why they are doing so. For some inexplicable reason, every time the then prime minister Tony Blair decreed that Heathrow must expand, particularly at PMQs, the phrase cui bono? flashed into my mind. Mr Blair has certainly done well since he left office. One of the most recent and loudest expansionists is Tim Yeo.