Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) inquiry

Published 5 June 2018.

The Government has "welcomed and acted upon 24" of the Transport Committee's 25 recommendations on the revised draft Airports NPS, and disagrees with one, on the Lakeside Energy from Waste plant.

• On air quality, the Government "welcomes the intent behind" the call for a more stringent compliance test and says its analysis uses a high demand scenario that "provides a degree of headroom". It says it has revised paragraph 5.42 and published an addendum to the Updated Appraisal Report with health impact estimates within and beyond the 2 km study area.
• The Government does not agree that the Lakeside Energy from Waste plant should have equivalent recognition to the Immigration Removal Centres, saying the plant is "not a strategic asset" and its acquisition "should be the subject of commercial property negotiation".
• On surface access, it supports the Western Rail Link to Heathrow and, "subject to development consent", expects construction to be completed "by around 2026/27". Southern Rail Access is at an "early conceptual stage" and, "subject to an acceptable business case and obtaining planning consent", operations should start "as soon as reasonably practicable" after a new runway opens.
• On night flights, the Government says the NPS sets an expected ban of six and a half hours between 23:00 and 07:00, with details "subject to consultation". It does not set the seven hours of respite the Committee recommended.

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