MP warns of noise from Stansted expansion
02.04.08
Villages will have their peace shattered by aircraft noise if Stansted Airport expands further, a local MP has warned. Tim Yeo, Conservative MP for Suffolk South, has released a statement that will be read on his behalf at a Stop Stansted Expansion Group rally in Bishop's Stortford tomorrow.
In the statement Mr Yeo who reiterates his 'long standing and unqualified opposition to the continued growth of Stansted Airport,' says: ‘Under the National Air Traffic Service's recently proposed flight paths changes, residents of communities such as Lavenham, Thorpe Morieux, Cockfield and Monks Eleigh, to name only four, would have their peace shattered by aircraft noise even with the existing numbers of flights to and from the airport.'
‘Any expansion in traveller numbers will cause misery to many of the communities I represent in Suffolk. A second runway would also mean the permanent loss of a huge swathe of unspoilt countryside and ancient woodlands. As BAA eventually admitted the pollution impacts of their plans for increased flights will be far more serious than it originally claimed.'
‘But politicians do not just have a responsibility to speak up for the interests of their constituents; they must also balance the benefits of decisions for the whole of Britain. And the growth of Stansted fails that second test too. As Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee I am very conscious of the fact that it cannot be justified either on environmental or economic grounds.'
‘The more we know about the impact of climate change the more urgently we must make sure that the cost of air travel reflects that impact. And as was made abundantly clear at the Public Inquiry, as primarily a provider of low cost holiday flights, Stansted fuels Britain's tourism deficit by nearly £20 billion, which totally undermines claims that the airport is in our national or even regional economic interest. '
Mr Yeo will also be speaking at a public meeting to discuss the latest proposals on flightpaths at Lavenham village hall, at 19:30 next Wednesday (April 9).
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