The Green Party has claimed that George Best Belfast City Airport is being allowed to make up the rules as they go along while a ‘toothless’ Planning Service fails to act.  This is in light of a recent row between the Planning Service and the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) about information being provided by the airport in relation to noise monitoring.

Green Party spokesperson Steven Agnew has long been an opponent of the airports expansion plans.  He states;

“First George Best Belfast City Airport refused to submit information on noise demanding that the limit on its passenger numbers be removed.  The airport is required to do this by the Planning Agreement which governs its operations yet the Planning Service failed to act.

Now the airport is saying it won’t release the information until a public enquiry is held into its proposal for a runway extension.  Still the Planning Service refuses to act.  The Planning Appeals Commission has clearly said that failure to provide this information could delay the whole process.  Such a delay will benefit nobody.”

The Planning Appeals Commission has accepted the Civil Aviation Authority’s analysis that the airport’s Environmental Statement contains deficiencies and has therefore refused to set a date for the public inquiry into the controversial development. The commission says it isn’t convinced all necessary factual information has been provided about the noise implications of the proposed development.

In a recent letter to the PAC, TJ Clarke, director of Strategic Planning at Planning Service, said the airport did not accept that the comments of the CAA consultant called the adequacy of the Environmental Statement into question and Planning Service did not consider that any more environmental information is needed at this time.  But PAC acting chief administrative officer Lorraine Braniff wrote back, warning that that decision is not up to the applicant.”

Mr Agnew continued;

“It seems to me to be a case of the airport cart pulling the Planning Service horse with the airport making all the demands and the apparently toothless Planning Service just going along with it.  The airport is being allowed to make up the rules as it goes along.

The Planning Agreement is there to protect residents whose lives are disrupted due to noise of planes amongst other things.  The airport cannot simply chose how and when to comply.  If the Planning Service cannot enforce the current Planning Agreement why should the airport be granted permission to expand its operations further?  Maybe it is time that the airport was given an ultimatum; provide accurate up to date data or all expansion proposals are off the table.”

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