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Second Stansted runway on course for 2015

Written by Tony Quested

Tuesday, 11 March 2008

A computer generated image of how the new terminal will look BAA has submitted formal plans to develop a second runway at Stansted Airport – and lit the touchpaper to an economic boom for the East of England. If the plan is approved, Stansted will be the location for the first new runway in the South East for more than half a century. The two-runway, two-terminal airport is expected to be open in 2015, serving 68 million passengers a year by around 2030. Development will take place in phases with construction expected to start in 2011. BAA says over 13,000 new jobs will be created at the Essex hub by 2030 and billions of pounds injected into the East of England and UK economies. Besides the new runway and second terminal building, the expansion will see a new control tower, hotels, offices, industrial, catering and cargo facilities. The Generation 2 (G2) blueprint is the result of four years of intensive and rigorous planning work to deliver what BAA called “a key milestone of the Government’s Air Transport White Paper.” Complementary investment is planned in road and rail improvements and BAA has got its retaliation in first to defuse the environmental lobby. It has slashed the amount of land required from 700 hectares (just under 1,730 acres) to 442 hectares (slightly over 1,092 acres) and an extra 208 hectares (514 acres) of existing land adjacent to the extended airport boundary are being dedicated to a comprehensive nature conservation and landscaping scheme to reduce and offset the effects of the development. BAA has trimmed by more than 25 per cent the number of homes swallowed up by the scheme and more than halved the number of people within the designated noise contour. It has also set out  70 stringent sustainability targets, including:- • By 2030 Stansted’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy use will not exceed those in 2006 • By 2030 water supplied to Stansted will be no greater volume than that used by the single runway airport operation at present • 10 per cent or less of waste to landfill by 2030 • By 2030, 70 per cent of waste generated by the airport’s operation will be recycled BAA estimates that G2 will generate UK economic benefits worth £9 billion – much of it within the £100 billion Eastern region economy. Alastair McDermid, BAA director for Stansted Generation 2, added: “Stansted represents all that is  best in a modern, mobile and dynamic economy so I’m very proud of these  exciting and innovative G2 plans. “To help shape this vision we have listened very carefully to the views of thousands of people and I firmly believe we have planned the best airport project of its time. “Our proposals represent a significant investment by BAA to deliver the sustainable and responsible growth of air travel in the UK. They allow the national and regional economies to compete in an increasingly global market place and share in the huge social and economic benefits available. “At the same time we have worked extremely hard to minimise the environmental impacts that were anticipated by the Government when it published its Air Transport White Paper in 2003. “The potential benefit of a second runway is enormous for business growth, for the creation of thousands of new jobs, for supporting inward investment and for boosting inbound tourism. And the social and cultural benefits of even greater opportunities for leisure travel and to visit friends and family cannot be underestimated. “This is not growth at any cost. The global issue of climate change is one we take very seriously and is recognised as requiring international action. There is agreement that the best way of addressing the  challenge is through a global emissions trading scheme and BAA has been leading the call for the aviation industry to be part of that. “We want to make sure passengers have the best possible experience as they travel through Stansted,  that’s it’s efficient and cost effective for airlines and that it’s an airport  which in terms of its environmental credentials is at the leading edge of what it’s possible to do.” Four planning applications have been made for the development – a  full application for the runway, taxiways and other engineering works; an outline application for the terminal and other buildings and applications for nature conservation and landscaping off-setting measures and the construction of new local roads to replace those severed by the extended footprint of the airport. An application under the Transport and Works Act for rail works at the airport will be made plus two orders made by the Highways Agency for new junctions on the M11 and A120. The proposed airport development will take place in phases with construction expected to start in 2011 and open for operations in 2015. BAA has confirmed that the opening cost in 2015 will be £1.4 billion. Further phases of expansion up to the year 2030 will take overall cost, including BAA’s contribution to road and rail improvements, to around £2.5bn – exactly half the original Government estimate of £5bn. Key features of the second runway development are:- • A second runway 3,048 metres long and 60 metres wide located parallel with and 2,200 metres to the east of the existing runway • A second terminal building located within walking distance of the existing terminal and public transport stations. The design of this 95,000m² building is intended to complement the existing terminal • A series of airport buildings needed for the construction and operation of the expanded airport, such as a new control tower, hotels, offices, freight forwarding, industrial and catering areas • Additional cargo and maintenance facilities, alongside the existing cargo operation • Enhancements to the airport’s railway station including a second rail tunnel and a fourth platform • Bus and coach station enhancement allowing more routes and frequency of services • Changes to access routes to the airport from the M11 and A120; replacing  local roads that will be stopped or diverted because of the expanded airport development. • Changes to airspace patterns and routes to accommodate aircraft movements to and from the expanded airport. 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