Cornwall - Newquay Airport Expansion - The Case Examined - Elizabeth Baines- Foreward

Foreword

This report has been commissioned by Groundswell Cornwall, an informal local association. Its purpose is to assess the case for the expansion of Newquay Airport.

The report has been prepared by Elizabeth Baines, a postgraduate student at King's College, London.

The plans for the expansion of the airport come at a pivotal time for Cornwall and its development. Decisions have to be made against a background of rising concern about the impact of climate change, anxiety about energy supplies - particularly oil – a strong desire to protect the economic development of Cornwall, growing pressures on the public purse, and the backdrop of the EU Convergence Programme.

Substantial investment is required to bring the airport up to CAA standards. Further significant funds will be required to cater for the proposed dramatic increase in passenger numbers.

However, these funds will be invested into a project that will increase Cornwall's CO2 emissions, that does not appear to take account of rising oil prices, and that will damage our local environment. Furthermore, the report suggests that even the business case for the airport may not be as robust as is claimed.

The findings of the study have persuaded us, as signatories to this foreword, to call for a wider debate on the impact of the plans on Cornwall's economy, communities and environment and our contribution to global warming. We all wish to see a successful, outward looking society, a protected and strengthened environment and a thriving economy for Cornwall. Our fear is that the plans for the airport may
undermine the very thing we wish to achieve.

We will welcome and play our full part in the debate, and are reassured that the announcement of a consultation process by Cornwall County Council indicates their commitment to do the same.

We commend the report and welcome it as an important contribution to the discussion on Cornwall's future.

Groundswell Cornwall
2 October 2007
www.groundswellcornwall.org

Signed: Oliver Baines, Andrew and Sue Biss, Manda Brookman, Will Coleman, Mike
Haywood, Matt Hocking, Ian Jones, Lorely Lloyd, Peter McGregor, Mandy Milano,
Lindley Owen, Lindsay Southcombe, Verena Stubbs, Mark Summers, Matthew
Trevaskis, Tony Wainwright