NPA attempts to block Airport expansion
From todays Bournemouth Echo
AIRPORT and council chiefs have come out all guns blazing after the New Forest National Park Authority attempted to halt major plans for the expansion of Bournemouth Airport.
National Park bosses have applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the decision by Christchurch council to grant permission for the scheme.
If the judge allows the review to proceed it could lead to planning permission for the new airport terminal, extra car parks and highway improvements being quashed and the council forced to reconsider the application.
But whatever the outcome, the High Court procedure will come at a high cost to the public purse both to the government-funded national park quango and council tax payers in Christchurch.
Town hall officers have slammed the NPA tactics as misguided, unlikely to succeed and a huge waste of public money.
Now council leader Cllr Alan Griffiths is calling for an urgent meeting with the National Park Authority's board to "put a stop to this appalling waste of public money".
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"We are at a loss to understand why the national park would want to take this step.
"We have already had discussions with them and will continue to do so until we understand exactly what they hope to achieve, as it is still not clear to us," he said.
"If, as they say, this is merely a matter of principle, applying for a judicial review could be at vast expense to the taxpayer with little hope of it affecting the planning decision in any way.
"For an unelected body to take legal action against an elected body is a waste of time and money for all involved."
Christchurch MP Chris Chope said: "I am very concerned that resources will be drawn from the community to fund litigation at a time when people would really prefer these resources to be otherwise employed for their benefit.
"Litigation is merely designed to go over process rather than substance and would be a total waste of public resources."
The NPA case, already dismissed by government ministers who did not "call in" the planning consent for a public inquiry, is that Christchurch council did not take proper account of the national park when approving the airport plans.
New Forest NPA chairman Clive Chatters said: "The authority feels this is both a significant individual case and an important point of principle."
"Government designated the New Forest as a national park and one of its particular characteristics is vulnerability to the impact of development within and beyond its boundaries."
But Christchurch council insists it was aware of its legal duties and the airport planning application included a full environmental statement both in general terms and the effects on the national park.
Bournemouth Airport head of external affairs Sally Windsor said: "We deeply regret that the New Forest National Park Authority has decided to take this action, particularly as we were already in discussion with them about their concerns and we have offered to meet them again to allay any other fears they may have."