Originally Posted by
MARKEYD
Thanks FF
Question , Do all UK airports have to produce a Masterplan for future development or is it just for airports that have over a certain amount of passenger numbers
I haven't seen or heard of anything from say , EXT , BOH , NWI , INV , HUM , NQY etc .....
I know BOH had one back over 10 yrs ago but do they have re produce one now
Cheers
Markey, so far as I am aware there is no national obligation for airports to produce masterplans, but local governments may apply different rules. Government nationally is currently reviewing the UK Aviation Strategy and will publish a Green Paper (the draft aviation strategy) around the end of this year. One of the topics being addressed by government is 'making the best use of existing airport infrastructure in the UK' but especially in the south of England, where capacity will be outstripped by demand soonest. Government says it is particularly keen to support sustainable growth in this geographical area. Without question this is in part because the prospects for actually delivering R3 at LHR before the capacity crunch hits are still low.
https://assets.publishing.service.go...ng-runways.pdf
The airport masterplans will quantify for government what airport capacity might be available elsewhere (other than LHR) and when, if the necessary investment is made available, and if planners can be convinced to agree with the proposals. A quick read through any older forecasts and masterplans will quickly highlight that the long term forecasts they contain have become wide of the mark by a large margin. Take a read of either the most recent BOH plan or the 2006 SOU plan to see what I mean. The forecasts of the airports commission are no better, in just a few years the fallibility of even the best forecasters is already clear.
But masterplans are necessary, and as can be seen from the document just published for Southampton, clarify in detail how the airport could develop. Government has also made clear that it will be placing greater emphasis on the environmental sustainability (noise/air quality) of any growth, one reason why current restrictions are unlikely to be relaxed, whether for London airports or elsewhere.
So, expect a number of airports to release updated masterplans in 2018 to support their pitch to government for the national strategy, but don't expect all the plans to come to fruition, and don't expect anything to happen soon.
FF