Insight 43 - Magazine - Page 38
Stansted Airport expansion:
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL VOICE CONCERN
H
ertfordshire County Council
has raised concerns following
the publication of a masterplan
for Stansted airport that outlines their
ambition to increase capacity and
passenger numbers.
The airport, located just over the
Hertfordshire border in Essex and just a
few miles from Bishops Stortford, wishes
to change its existing planning permission
which allows for 43 million passengers per
annum, up to a new limit of 51 million per
annum.
A planning application to seek approval for
the uplift is expected later in 2025.
Responding to the consultation the County
Council:
• recognises and welcomes the economic
benefits and jobs that growth in the
Airport would bring;
However, growth:
• should not be at expense of any potential
adverse impacts upon the environment
and communities in Hertfordshire,
particularly in terms of noise and air
quality.
• needs to come forward with proposals
to ensure that access to and from the
Airport can be managed effectively,
both in terms of road and rail and other
modes. Access by public transport to/
from all directions has to be a priority
given the constraints already experienced
on the road network.
• must be fully compatible with the
country’s carbon/climate change
commitments.
• should be accompanied by a package
of exceptional environmental control
mechanisms, surface access solutions
and positive benefits to communities.
The County Council has called for a delay
in the publication of the Sustainable
Development Plan until such time as it
contains evidence and detailed proposals
on how concerns will be mitigated.
"The country is committed
to economic growth, and
we appreciate the benefits
that any expansion at
Stansted could bring, but
ploughing ahead to the
detriment of local people
would be unwise and a
mistake. We are clear that
any growth or expansion
must be sustainable and
of benefit to the local
area, including those
just over the border here
in Hertfordshire. That
is why we have set out
quite clearly as part of our
response that congestion,
additional noise and any
adverse impact on the
environment must be
mitigated."
- Councillor Stephen Boulton, Executive
Member for Sustainable Economic
Growth, Hertfordshire County Council
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bIZ4BIZ INSIGHT MAGAZINE | APRIL 2025
