CAA report prompts calls to axe Belfast City Airport runway extension
27.02.10
A report by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on information supplied by Belfast City Airport has prompted calls for the airport to withdraw its planning application for a runway extension, according to the Belfast Telegraph. The environmental statement supporting the application to extend the runway by one-third has ‘significant deficiencies’, the CAA said.
The noise report submitted to Planning Service by the CAA said that the evidence in the environmental statement was incomplete and advised caution in relying on it. It expressed particular concerns over the potential for the existing planning agreement to be breached, particularly the annual limit on seats for sale. The report also questioned the way the airport had worked out how large an area surrounding the site is affected by high noise levels.
Calling for a public inquiry into the plans, PUP leader Dawn Purvis said the report ran a ‘coach and horses’ through the airport’s environmental statement and questioned whether the airport can be trusted to control its own noise levels.
An airport spokesperson told the newspaper: ‘This report is one of many documents from a range of stakeholders that will be evaluated by Planning Service and the minister as part of due planning process. The airport is still awaiting a decision on its application to extend its runway, which will benefit the local community and wider economy.’
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