Campaigners urge Manchester Airport expansion rethink
29.03.10
Manchester Airport has been urged to put its expansion plans on hold after campaigners won a High Court battle over the proposed third runway at Heathrow. The airport has permission to demolish two cottages it already owns but rents to families to make way for a new cargo unit, but residents say the scheme should be halted.
The residents issued the plea out after Lord Justice Carnwath said that the government’s 2003 aviation policy – the basis for expansion at airports around the country – needed to be reviewed in the light of climate change. Peter Johnson, who lives in one of the threatened historic cottages on Hasty Lane, near Hale Barns, described the ruling as ‘significant’ and said it offered new hope that his home would be granted a reprieve.
Airport bosses were granted permission last November to knock down the homes, which they own, to make way for an 18,000 sq m cargo hanger. The campaigners last month dropped a legal challenge against the decision to grant planning permission to the project because they were told they stood a less than 50% chance of winning and could be landed with a five-figure bill. Now they plan to look again at the issue following the Heathrow ruling.
However, the Manchester expansion is for a cargo unit rather than directly linked to flights. The airport could argue that there is demand for this irrespective of growth or decline in flights, so it would appear that the Heathrow decision is unlikely to help the Manchester campaigners.
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