Chapter 12 - Next steps

12.1 This chapter summarises the steps that now need to be taken in order to implement the conclusions in this White Paper.

Securing statutory approval

12.2 It will be for airport operators to decide how to take forward plans for airport expansion in the light of the policies set out in this White Paper. Airport development will continue to be subject to the planning system, subject to changes announced following the Green Paper Planning: delivering a fundamental change in December 2001 (see box). Airport operators will have to meet the requirements for environmental impact assessment, and will also be expected to undertake appropriate health impact assessments. The timing of any planning applications will be a matter for commercial decision by the operators.

Planning Reforms The key features are: Major infrastructure projects Changes are being made to improve the handling of developments involving major infrastructure projects, including airports. This will be facilitated by clearer Government Policy statements, such as this White Paper, which will in future also be supported by clearer regional strategies and new planning policy statements. Coupled with this are proposals in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill that will allow an inquiry to be conducted by a team of inspectors, together with new Rules governing the inquiry procedure. Taken together these measures will provide a clear strategic framework for future planning applications involving major infrastructure developments of national or regional importance. Regional Spatial Strategies The Regional Spatial Strategy will replace Regional Planning Guidance. It will incorporate a Regional Transport Strategy, and provide a spatial framework to inform the preparation of Local Development Documents, local transport plans and regional and sub-regional strategies and programmes that have a bearing on land use activities. Local Development Frameworks Local Development Frameworks will replace local plans and unitary development plans. The Local Development Framework is effectively a portfolio of Local Development Documents which will collectively deliver the spatial planning strategy for a local planning authority's area. Local Development Documents will comprise Development Plan Documents - which form part of the statutory development plan - and Supplementary Planning Documents which could include airport master plans. Local Development Frameworks must be in general conformity with the Regional Spatial Strategy, outside London, and the Spatial Development Strategy (if the local planning authority is a London Borough).

Land protection

12.3 Land outside existing airports that is needed for future expansion will need to be protected against incompatible development in the intervening period. Under the current planning system, such land is only formally protected once it is either reflected in the local development plan or when planning permission is granted for the airport development.

12.4 At airports where development may occur, early arrangements are being made to update current Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) safeguarding maps to reflect the relevant proposals. This will ensure that the airport operator is consulted by the local planning authority over any planning applications which might conflict with safe operations at the airport, or nearby. The safeguarding map identifies areas by reference to the land height around the airport and its operational requirements, and describes the circumstances in which the local planning authority is required to consult the airport operator. The maps are produced and revised by the airport operators, and certificated by the CAA.

12.5 In exceptional circumstances, where these arrangements prove inadequate, directions by the Secretary of State under Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 may be used.

12.6 We know there are concerns about the effect of windfarms close to airports, both civilian and military, on airport radar. This is sometimes difficult to reconcile with our aim to increase renewable energy, and we are working on this with industry and the research community.

Airport master plans

12.7 Airport operators are recommended to maintain a master plan document detailing development proposals. An airport master plan does not have development plan status, but the level of detail contained within it is essential to inform the content of the Local Development Framework.

12.8 We will expect airport operators to produce master plans or, where appropriate, to update existing master plans to take account of the conclusions on future development set out in this White Paper. The master plans should set out proposals for development of the airport to 2015 in some detail. They should include detailed proposals for surface access, environmental controls and mitigation and, where appropriate, measures to address blight. Indicative land use plans should be included for the period from 2016 to 2030.

12.9 Airport operators should begin this process immediately, with a view to the production of new or revised master plans as soon as possible, and preferably within the next twelve months. These should take account of the Regional Spatial Strategy (and the Regional Transport Strategy within it) and local transport plans in England, and their equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These documents should in turn take account of airport master plans when they are revised.

Green Belt

12.10 A number of major airports, including Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh, are situated in Green Belts, where there is a general presumption against inappropriate development. Such development should not be approved except in very special circumstances. In most cases, development at airports in the Green Belt which requires planning consent will be inappropriate development and very special circumstances to justify the development will not exist unless the harm by reason of inappropriateness and any other harm is clearly outweighed by other considerations. In other cases, such as Manchester, certain parts of an airport may be designated as a Major Developed Site in a development plan, thereby permitting a certain level of in-filling; while in a few cases, such as at Newcastle, the Green Belt boundary has been realigned, through changes to the development plan, to allow the airport to develop.

12.11 In England, planning policy on Green Belts is set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 (PPG2). PPG2 will be revised in 2004 in the context of the reforms set out in the Planning Green Paper.

12.12 No clear view emerged from the consultation as to how these differing considerations might be reconciled. The Government will review this issue further, and return to it when planning guidance on Green Belt policy is next reviewed. In England, this will be in the context of the review of Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 in 2004.

Blight

12.13 While the publication of this White Paper will help to remove uncertainty and anxiety for many people, others will continue to be affected by the prospect of future airport development, whether short or long-term.

12.14 Under existing planning law, residential and agricultural owner occupiers directly affected by airport development plans will have access in due course to statutory blight provisions, either when planning permission is granted for the airport development, or when the local development plan has been revised to reflect development proposals.

12.15 In addition, the law provides for compensation in respect of loss of value arising from certain indirect effects of future airport development during construction such as noise or dust (under the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965) and for loss of value one year on from the opening of a new development and arising from its operation (under Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973).

12.16 The prospect of airport development will in many cases have a wider impact on property values in the period before statutory protection is available. This is often referred to as 'generalised blight'. There is no statutory remedy for this, but we accept that people should have access to some form of redress, for example to help them relocate before the development takes place, if they need to do so. Arrangements are therefore being made for non-statutory schemes to be brought forward locally by the airport operators to deal with the problem of generalised blight where runways are supported by this White Paper or where land is safeguarded for future development. These schemes will complement the proposals for noise mitigation discussed in Chapter 3.

12.17 Recent precedents for the use of non-statutory schemes of this kind, include, for example, those used in connection with the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. We look to operators to minimise the impacts on local people, to consult on the details of their schemes, and to put them in place quickly. These schemes will not affect people's statutory rights.

Delivering surface access improvements

12.18 In earlier chapters we have recognised the importance of airports as key strategic components of the UK's transport infrastructure and the need to ensure that they are served by good quality, well integrated, surface access, capable of supporting future airport development. We have also identified what we believe are the key surface access issues that will need to be addressed in each case.

12.19 Responsibility for bringing forward proposals and securing funding lies with airport operators, working closely with the Department for Transport, Strategic Rail Authority, Highways Agency, and regional and local bodies. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where responsibility for strategic transport planning is largely devolved, the Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland authorities will play a leading role.

12.20 Taking forward these proposals will need effective collaboration between these bodies. It will require:

• development or revision of long-term surface access strategies to accompany the preparation of airport master plans reflecting the conclusions in this White Paper;
• project development, option appraisal and consultation, with a view to identifying preferred schemes, along with funding arrangements;
• airport surface access strategies and schemes being reflected, as appropriate, in regional transport Strategies within Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Frameworks and Transport Plans in England and equivalent planning processes in the devolved areas and, in the long-term, the strategies of the relevant transport delivery agencies;
• development of detailed design, costing, environmental impact assessment, value for money appraisal and funding plans;
• application for approvals (including Compulsory Purchase Orders) through normal planning procedures, or where appropriate through Transport and Works Act (1992) and Highways Act (1980) procedures or, in Scotland, private bill procedures - including where necessary a public inquiry; and
• commissioning and construction.

12.21 All airports in England and Wales with more than 1,000 passenger air transport movements a year are required to set up an Airport Transport Forum and prepare an Airport Surface Access Strategy. The strategy should set out short and long-term targets for decreasing the proportion of journeys to the airport by car and increasing the proportion by public transport, for both air passengers and airport workers. Where appropriate, these strategies will need to be revised, alongside the preparation of airport master plans, and in consultation with the relevant Forum, to reflect the conclusions in this White Paper.

12.22 Chapter 4 sets out the Government's approach in relation to the funding of airport surface access schemes. In some cases it will be appropriate for the airport operator to pay in full for a particular enhancement or improvement. In others, especially where there are wider benefits or the airport is not the primary contributor to the problem the scheme is designed to address, there may be a requirement for a broader funding package.