Council does yet another U-turn over Coventry airport plans
30.09.05
Warwick District Council has changed its stance over plans for a new passenger terminal at Coventry Airport - for the second time in a month and just days after vowing to oppose it. Last week councillors voted against the terminal plans, disregarding the advice of senior planning officials, who had said that they should accept the plans (see this earlier coventry airport news story).
But on Tuesday night the council changed its position again, and agreed to an amended package of measures, including compensation for residents. Yet again, the council denied it had done a U-turn, and said the amended proposals represented a tougher stance.
The mitigation package agreed now includes noise control measures, grants for noise insulation up to 80% of the costs to a maximum of £3000, restrictions on flight times until improvements to local roads are completed and the monitoring of air quality. The proposals, which also include the provision of increased transport access to the airport, was accepted on Tuesday night by five votes to three.
Planning committee chairman Bill Evans said: 'The committee were justified in rejecting the earlier proposals as they did not go far enough. I am happy that these amended proposals represent a tougher stance on the mitigation achieved by the council. With the addition of the tougher measures on public transport, I feel we have achieved a good balance between the needs of local residents and the legitimate requirements of local business.'
But Conservative councillor Michael Kinson said the council should not be supporting the expansion. 'There is an international airport at Birmingham and another at East Midlands. Another airport is not needed here. This has consequences for local people in the area and they deserve our support.'
The council has now given its approval for a permanent terminal which could accept up to two million passengers-a-year. This is the larger of two planning applications by Coventry airport owners TUI, both of which are due to be debated at a public inquiry, due to start in Leamington Spa in January.
Warwick District Council will now tell the public inquiry that it will agree to the planning application. A separate decision on the legality of the current temporary terminal at Baginton has been the subject of a recently concluded public inquiry - with the Government's judgment expected before the end of the year.
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