CPRE unveils "shocking data" against airport expansion

Countryside campaign group the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) has today (Wednesday) listed what it calls "shocking data" against the government's airport expansion plans.

"The Government's consultation options represent a direct assault on the countryside," said CPRE aviation campaigner Andrew Critchell. "No less than 44 of England's best wildlife sites (SSSIs), seven areas of outstanding natural beauty, 28 square kilometres of green belt and 319 listed buildings are at risk of either directly disappearing under concrete"

The attack by CPRE follows last week's announcement by transport secretary Alistair Darling of a variety of expansion plans at Gatwick and Heathrow airport.

However, the CPRE believes that the scale of damage caused by some of the expansion options may even be greater than the government's own assessment and is campaigning hard for an environmentally sustainable air transport policy.

It adds that recent modelling by the Department for Transport's supercomputer has shown that, by ending the industry's massive tax exemptions, no new runways would be needed in the next 30 years even with continuing growth in air travel.

CPRE is calling for the government's Air Transport White Paper (expected at the end of the year) to:

• End tax exemptions and introduce taxes or charges to ensure that the air transport industry pays for the environmental and social costs it imposes on society.
• Introduce measures to manage the demand for air travel and improve the efficiency of aircraft and airports.
• Promote the use of high speed rail to reduce short-haul and domestic flights.