Stour and Orwell Society Objectiions to Second Runway

WE NEED YOU TO OBJECT TO THE SECOND RUNWAY PLANS…

You may have written many letters over the years about Stansted expansion plans but now, more than ever, we need you to take action – or all that has gone before will be devalued. This is our first chance to make a direct objection to the second runway planning application which we expect to be examined at a public inquiry, starting in 2009 and lasting around a year, with a decision in late 2010 or early 2011.

DON’T WASTE THE CHANCE - PLEASE WRITE – NOW…

It’s vital that you write in even the simplest terms to Uttlesford District Council to object to BAA’s plans for a second runway. Why? Because every letter of objection helps demonstrate community opposition to the plans and numbers will be counted and quoted at next year’s public inquiry.

We urge you to write as soon as possible to lodge your objections – and encourage every member of your family and as many friends and neighbours as possible to do the same in their own letters.

You don’t even need to write very much: just briefly say why you are opposed to the plans to make StanstedAirport bigger than Heathrow today. The impacts it would have on how you live, travel, learn, sleep, socialise – and on future generations. The changes it would impose on the region and the degradation of its character, and the effect all this would have on quality of life and the environment. Even two sentences would do!

Send your letter or email (include your contact details) to Uttlesford District Council at either (Planning),

London Road

, Saffron Walden CB11 4ER or email planning@uttlesford.gov.uk, with ‘second runway’ as your reference

Write or email as soon as possible but in any event before 26 September 2008

Contact SSE on 01279 870558 or info@stopstanstedexpansion.com if you need help. See also our website at www.stopstanstedexpansion.com

While the application is extremely voluminous, the bottom line is that BAA’s second runway plans would mean:

1. An two-runway airport capable of handling c500,000 flights a year (compared with the present 200,000) and 68 million passengers per year (compared with the present 23 million) by 2030 – more than Heathrow. This would require significant land take and heritage loss including:

destruction of nearly 800 hectares of countryside in Broxted and Takeley, including most of Molehill Green and vast tracts of prime farmland
demolition of 73 homes plus 14 non- residential buildings. 35 historic buildings would go, including 13 listed (or groups of listed) buildings. Two scheduled ancient monuments are also threatened

2. All arrivals initially landing on one runway and departures taking off on the other. This would mean some 86 aircraft movements each hour, split between the opposite ends of the two runways (i.e. 43 flights over each end per hour). The Hallingburys, Bishop's Stortford and the area to the north of Great Dunmow would be particularly badly affected being closest to the runway approaches and departures, but the noise from overflying would extend far wider. And BAA is reserving the right to switch to ‘mixed mode’ (where planes take off and land on each runway) at a later stage which would extend the impacts to yet more communities

3. A second passenger terminal and control tower, an initial batch of four new hotels (2800 rooms), airport related buildings and additional car parks (including multi-storey parking) to bring airport parking provision to around 85,000 spaces – twice the number of car parking spaces at Heathrow

4. A vast 'spaghetti junction' on the M11 at Junction 8 to take traffic to and from the Airport and another new airport access junction on the A120 near Takeley, both with elevated roundabouts and slip roads.

5. A second rail line into the airport and a fourth station platform. The rail line would run through a new tunnel, to be bored alongside the existing tunnel at Burton End

6. New local roads, bridleways and footpaths to replace those swallowed up by the airport extension (in many cases meaning much longer journeys) and M11/A120 schemes

7. A vast construction site with over 3,000 site workers over an intensive four-year period and ongoing development and construction for the next 15 years

Why you should be concerned – and why you MUST take action

BAA’s application significantly understates the severe effects its plans would have at the ‘frontline’ and ignores those that would be experienced further afield, particularly…

air noise not only in the vicinity of the airport and at local schools but across the region

congestion on the rail network with priority given to airport express trains

community severance (road closures/re-routing and lengthened journeys, public rights of way changes) and erosion of community networks including loss of amenity

reshaped road networks, increased fly parking and rat runs

loss of listed buildings, historic buildings, homes, heritage, countryside, rural character

light pollution (during both the construction and operational phases)

influx of site workers – up to 3300 at peak – during the first construction phase (2011-2015), and in later construction phases planned between 2015-2030

ground noise and air quality impacts, in both construction and operational phases

continued house blight which has already affected thousands of homes in recent years

compromised nature conservation and ecology, including the loss of most of Philipland Wood, an ancient woodland, and degradation of HatfieldForest

a major set back to efforts to combat climate change: a second runway would increase Stansted's emissions by the equivalent of 11 million tonnes of CO2 a year

Remember, it isn’t just people in local villages and towns who would be affected in the course of daily life but in the district, region and beyond

Don’t rely on others to fight this one for you. We ALL need to play our part and thousands of letters from concerned individuals, parish and town councils and special interest groups are essential to backing up the opposition being spearheaded by Stop Stansted Expansion.