As Uttlesford District Council (UDC) closed its statutory public consultation on London Stansted’s planning application that will make best use of the airport’s single runway, the airport’s Chief Executive, Ken O’Toole, welcomed the strong show of support from local people and the political and business communities across the East of England.
To date over 650 responses have been submitted to the Council, a majority in support of the airport’s plans to serve up to 43 million passengers a year over the next decade without increasing the number of permitted flights or noise limits. Over half of these responses are from residents living in Uttlesford, Braintree, East Herts and Harlow districts.
Key businesses and organisations in the region including AstraZeneca, the University of Cambridge, Adnams, Harlow Enterprise Zone, Confederation of British Industry, the Local Enterprise Partnerships covering Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk and Chambers of Commerce have expressed support for Stansted as a key enabler of economic growth and global connectivity for the vibrant East of England region.
Many people, including representatives from Unite the Union and local politicians, have highlighted their support for the increase in employment opportunities further development of the airport will deliver. The prospect of new long-haul flights to key destinations including India, China and USA has also been a major factor in support for growth.
Organisations including business group, London First, the London-Stansted-Cambridge Consortium, Haven Gateway Partnership, Invest Essex and tourism body, Visit East Anglia highlight Stansted’s role over the next five to ten years in providing valuable capacity to support international trade, inward investment and tourism, a critical national asset given constraints at other airports serving London.I’ve been delighted at the scale and breadth of the backing our plans have received. The airport is clearly recognised as a major asset and gateway to the East of England, London and the wider UK, and it is very encouraging to know we have developed such a broad coalition of support, particularly from those businesses and organisations that are also creating jobs and delivering growth in the local and regional economy.
It is clear that local people also place great value on international connectivity, especially long-haul routes to fast-growing markets like China, India and the US. This matches our drive to add even more new and exciting destinations to the 190 we already serve.
Our proposal will deliver 5,000 on-airport jobs and thousands more in the wider region, a doubling of the economic value-add created and millions more tourists using Stansted as their arrival point into the UK. I’m very proud we have developed our plans to achieve this without needing to increase the number of flights we are already permitted to operate or the airport’s noise footprint.
We’re committed to maximising the social and economic benefits of growth in the most sustainable and efficient way possible for local residents, passengers, businesses and airline partners and we are delighted so many others share our belief and ambition to achieve this goal.
Ken O’ Toole, CEO of London Stansted
