Agenda item

By Councillor Mrs Temperton to Councillor Turrell, Executive Member for Planning and Transport:

At the Council meeting on 26 April 2017, I asked a question about responding to the consultation on the expansion to Heathrow Airport. The Council's response, signed by Councillor Turrell and Councillor Brunel-Walker, was submitted on 19 March 2018.

This stated that the Council generally supports the proposed expansion but with some conditions and many questions. A decision has now been made and residents are asking what is the position of the Council.

Will this submission be publicised so that all can see , as promised last April, that it  represents the interests of all residents?

Has a response been received concerning the many questions and conditions?

Councillor Mrs Temperton asked Councillor Turrell, Executive Member for Planning and Transport the following published question:

At the Council meeting on 26 April 2017, I asked a question about responding to the consultation on the expansion to Heathrow Airport. The Council's response, signed by Councillor Turrell and Councillor Brunel-Walker, was submitted on 19 March 2018.

This stated that the Council generally supports the proposed expansion but with some conditions and many questions. A decision has now been made and residents are asking what is the position of the Council.

Will this submission be publicised so that all can see , as promised last April, that it  represents the interests of all residents?

Has a response been received concerning the many questions and conditions?

Councillor Turrell replied stating that Bracknell Forest Council acknowledges the economic benefits of Heathrow Airport to Bracknell Forest businesses and residents with nearly 2000 residents working there. However, he added that the expansion did raise both strategic and practical concerns for the Borough.

He stated that since the response the Government had voted in favour of the Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) and published its response to the consultation. It was now for the applicant (Heathrow Airport Limited) to develop proposals and seek development consent in accordance with the policies contained in the Airports NPS. There would be increased demand and movements from expansion and it would be important to ensure that the strategy demonstrated how these could be achieved whilst limiting impact on the surrounding area.

He continued that Bracknell Forest Council must work closely with Heathrow, including continued work at the Strategic Planning Group and the Airport Transport Forum, to establish more detail on the opportunities and impacts for the Borough and how these relate to the surrounding area. This work, he stated, would inform the Council’s responses to any further consultations as the proposals were progressed.

He stated that access to Heathrow was an important factor for companies considering expanding within or moving to Bracknell with adequate transport infrastructure being key. He reported that 70% of journeys from Bracknell Forest to the airport were by car or taxi as trains and buses had failed to provide sufficient capacity, flexibility or ease of use.

He reflected that car use and congestion had consequential implications for air quality which were currently stable in Bracknell Forest, with emissions in the Borough's two air quality management areas remaining at the lowest levels of exceedance. This would be affected by congestion or bigger air quality challenges nearer the airport. Similarly he noted that noise remained an issue in some parts of the borough despite technical improvements in aircraft over the years.

He stated that the next stage in the planning procedure for nationally significant infrastructure was obtaining a Development Consent Order which would importantly require a further process of consultation and discussion with communities. The

Secretary of State would then conclude whether or not development consent should be granted, and the terms of any consent. This process, he explained, would also involve a public inquiry chaired by a planning inspector, to which representations could be made. He anticipated that this would be some time after 2020. It would be important to represent Bracknell Forest residents' concerns, and to work hard for the most effective measures to resolve or at least mitigate them.

Councillor Mrs Temperton asked a supplementary question querying whether all elected members could be given the opportunity to be involved in contributing to future Council responses to consultations through a gateway review for example so that all Bracknell Forest residents were represented.  

Councillor Turrell agreed that he would ensure that an appropriate vehicle was put in place to capture members’ views for submission of consultation responses on the future stages of the process.